Manhattan Area Music Teachers Association 

STUDENT ELIGIBILITY:  
The competition is open to students in grades K-12. Contestants are grouped by grade level. If the duet partners are from different grade levels, they will compete in the higher category. Each duo will perform one piece. Categories and time limits are listed below. If students exceed the time limit, the performance will be stopped (without penalty).

• Early Elementary Grades K-3 --- 6 minutes

• Late Elementary Grades 4-6 ---  8 minutes

• Intermediate Grades 7-9 --- 10 minutes

• Advanced Grades 10-12 --- 12 minutes

 
COMPETITION RULES:

• This competition will focus on music for two people performing duet music at one piano. Performances requiring the use of two pianos will not be permitted.

• Repertoire: Original pieces for piano duet, transcriptions and arrangements are allowed.

• The competition is open to the public.

• Teachers should collect all fees from their students and pay by one check made out to MAMTA. 

• In the event of a cancellation (usually resulting from dangerous weather conditions), we will make every effort to reschedule the competition. However, this may not be possible. Fees will not be refunded if the event is cancelled.

• If a teacher is unable to find a suitable duet partner for a student from within his/her own studio, it is possible to combine students from two different studios. The entire fee should be submitted with the application form from one of the participating teachers.

• Music does not need to be memorized. Students must provide an original copy of the music for the judge and use an original book for their performance; photocopies are not acceptable for either the judge or the performers. Music which is legally downloaded from the Internet, whether by purchase or through websites such as imslp.org is allowed. Please number all measures.

• The decisions of the judge are final. The judge may award one winner, one second place, and one or more honorable mention awards in each category. The judge reserves the right not to award a prize in any of the categories. 

• Every participant will receive a certificate, and each duo will receive a written critique.

• First and Second Place winners will perform their duet again at the Winners Concert for the other contestants and their families and friends. First and Second Place winners in each category will receive a prize.

• There is a non-competitive track available for those students who desire a written evaluation but who do not wish to compete. This may be an excellent option for students whose performance is perhaps not as polished as it would need to be for the competition but who wish to perform their duet in front of a judge.

• Students must compete within the scheduled time for their age group in order to be considered for a prize. If a duo is unable to perform with their age group, they may perform at another time (determined when the schedule is made) for comments only.

• Once the schedule is set, the only changes which can be made will be to switch students within a category. The chair will attempt to honor scheduling requests; however, it may be impossible to accommodate such requests.

• If there are more than 12 duet pairs within a category, the participants will be divided into two smaller groups. As much as possible, both of the smaller groups will contain a mixture of grade levels, just as the larger group would.