ECU Young Artist Piano Competition & Masterclasses
Saturday, May 2 & Sunday, May 3, 2026*
ECU School of Music
*Rescheduled from January 31 & February 1, 2026 due to inclement weather
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Announcing the 2026 East Carolina University Young Artist Piano Competition & Masterclasses! In addition to the annual competition and masterclasses, we are thrilled to present Melody Quah (Assistant Professor of Piano at Penn State University & a prizewinner of the 7th International Paderewski Competition) in a guest artist recital.
All events for the 2026 edition will take place in-person at the ECU School of Music.
The piano competition (Saturday, May 2) is open to students aged 11-18 from the District of Columbia, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.
The masterclasses with ECU faculty (Sunday, May 3) are open to both competing and non-competing students (pre-college and college students, ages 11-26). There is no residency requirement.
*We will accept the first 16 competition applicants for each division and the first 12 applicants for the masterclasses.
Guest Artist:
Melody Quah
A prizewinner of the 7th International Paderewski Competition held in Bydgoszcz, Poland, she has performed at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Hall, and as chamber musician at the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theatre. She has appeared as a soloist with orchestras internationally, including the Ku-Ring-Gai Symphony and Central Coast Symphony in Australia; the Pomeranian Philharmonic in Poland; and various ensembles in Canada and the United States, such as the Richmond Philharmonic, Academy Philharmonic, Vancouver Philharmonic, Vancouver Symphony, West Coast Symphony, Penn’s Woods Festival Orchestra, Williamsport Symphony, and Altoona Symphony Orchestras. In her native Malaysia, she has performed with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra at the Dewan Filharmonik PETRONAS.
Quah has premiered more than two dozen works by living composers, and has commissioned works for solo piano by Adeline Wong and Tazul Tajuddin (Malaysia), Parisa Sabet (Iran/Canada), Sidney Boquiren (Philippines), Marisa Hartanto (Indonesia), Emily Koh (Singapore), and Piyawat Louilarpprasert (Thailand). Recordings of their works are currently in production. Additionally, she has recorded music by Tom DeLio and Baljinder Sekhon, released on Neuma Records and the Blue Griffin label.
Quah currently serves as Assistant Professor of Piano at Penn State University and on the faculty of the Euro Arts Festival (Poland). She recently served as Artist Faculty at the Nanyang International Piano Academy festival (Singapore). She has presented masterclasses at University Sedaya College International and Universiti Teknologi MARA (Malaysia), at Medan Musik School (Indonesia), Royal Birmingham Conservatoire (UK), and for universities throughout the USA. An active adjudicator and presenter, she contributes regularly to the Music Teachers National Association and the College Music Society. She currently serves on the board of the Pennsylvania Music Teachers Association as vice president and co-conference chair.
Quah earned the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University as well as graduate degrees from the Yale School of Music and The Juilliard School. She received her Bachelor of Music from the Vancouver Academy of Music and completed her high school education at the Australian Institute of Music in Sydney. Quah’s principal teachers included Boris Slutsky, Peter Frankl, Matti Raekallio, Lee Kum Sing, and Snezana Panovska.
Melody Quah Guest Artist Recital
Sunday, May 3, 3pm
Fletcher Recital Hall, ECU School of Music
Masterclass Instructors:
Keiko Sekino
Associate Professor of Piano
B.A., Yale University, M.M., Yale School of Music, D.M.A., Peabody Institute. Studies with Peter Frankl, Robert McDonald, and Elisso Virsaladze.
Kwan Yi
Associate Professor of Piano
B.M., Curtis Institute, M.M., Juilliard School, A.D. Peabody Institute. Studies with Leon Fleisher and Robert McDonald.
Schedule on Saturday, May 2, 2026:
9am-5pm Competition Adjudication
6pm Announcement of Winners & Winners’ Recital
Schedule on Sunday, May 3, 2026:
12:30pm-2:30pm Masterclasses with ECU piano faculty
3:00pm Guest Artist Recital by Melody Quah
Eligibility:
Young Artist Piano Competition
- The piano competition is open to pre-college students between the ages of 11 and 14 (Junior Division) and 15 and 18 (Senior Division), who are residents of the District of Columbia, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia or who have studied with a teacher residing in that area for at least six months prior to the date of the competition. The Division each contestant should enter is determined by his/her age on the date of the competition, in this case, January 31, 2026 (the original competition date).
Masterclasses with ECU Faculty
- The masterclasses are open to both competing and non-competing students (pre-college and college students, ages 11-26). There is no residency requirement.
Competition Rules:
- Current students of the judges in their division are not allowed to enter the competition.
- Contestants will be assigned a number and will not be referred to by name.
- Former first place winners may not enter in the same division.
- By submitting the online application form, the contestant agrees that the director of the competition may use the submitted video recordings in future media broadcasts or in advertising for the competition without compensation to the contestant.
- All judges’ decisions are final.
- All competitors are required to be present at the Lunch & Showcase Performance as well as the Announcement of Winners & Winners’ Recital.
Junior Piano Division – Specific Rules & Prize Information
Senior Piano Division – Specific Rules & Prize Information