B# Piano Competition 2025
9 - 11th May |Wesley House, Dublin 6
đŁ Applications Open đŁ
âł DEADLINE: Saturday 26th April âď¸
Welcome
Welcome to the B# Piano Competition!
Following a successful 1st and 2nd year with a total of 100+ participants, we are returning this year with the 3rd Edition of the B# Piano Competition đ
The competition will take place on Friday 9th – Sunday 11th May 2025 in Litton Hall, Wesley House, Dublin 6. We hope you can join us!
There are 18 trophies and countless medals up for grabs. Out of the winners, 2 special prizes will be awarded:
- The Adjudicator Award for the best overall performer.
- The Audience Award for the performance with the most votes.
All competitors will receive detailed feedback which could prove invaluable for ABRSM / RIAM exams, or the Feis Ceoil competition. We hope you will join us to end your year on a high đ¤
Good luck to all our participants, we can’t wait to hear your performances!
Competitions
Age Reckoned on 1st January 2025
Solo Competitions
âŹ30
Performers to present one piece of own choice (up to 5 mins).
- Solo u7
- Solo u9
- Solo u11
- Solo u13
- Solo u15
Sonatina Competitions
âŹ35
Performers to present one movement of a sonatina/sonata of own choice.
- Sonatina u9
- Sonatina u12
- Sonatina u15
Etude Competitions
âŹ35
Performers to present one etude of own choice (up to 5 mins).
- Etude u9
- Etude u12
- Etude u15
Repertoire Competitions
âŹ45
Performers to present a program of contrasting style within time limits.
- Repertoire u9 - 9 mins
- Repertoire u12 - 11 mins
- Repertoire u15 - 13 mins
Duet Competitions
âŹ40
Performers to present a duet program of contrasting style within time limits.
- Duet u11 - 5 mins
- Duet u15 - 7 mins
Dr. Billy O'Brien
Competition Adjudicator 2025
Dr Billy OâBrien is currently Assistant Lecturer of Piano at MTU Cork School of Music, having previously taught part-time at TU Dublin Conservatoire and the Royal Irish Academy of Music. Billy enjoys combining passions for solo & chamber music performance with teaching and research.
He has appeared as concerto soloist with the RTĂ Concert Orchestra, Hibernian Orchestra, UCD Symphony Orchestra, RIAM Symphony Orchestra, Wexford Sinfonia, and Trinity Orchestra in concertos by Chopin, Ravel, Grieg, Gershwin, and Beethoven.
He has given solo recitals throughout Ireland in venues such as the Field Room, National Concert Hall, the National Gallery of Ireland, the Hugh Lane Gallery, as well as in Spain, France, Finland and the UK. He has appeared in concert series and festivals such as the New Ross Piano Festival, New Music Dublin, Kaleidoscope, Music for Wexford, and the Crawford Gallery, among others. In chamber music, Billy has partnered with many of Ireland’s leading musicians, and he has collaborated with the Crash, Ficino and Kirkos Ensembles.
Billy studied at the Royal Irish Academy of Music under the guidance of Therese Fahy and Hugh Tinney, and pursued postgraduate study in Paris with Rena Shereshevskaya. He earned a Doctor in Music Performance degree in 2022 from Trinity College Dublin and the RIAM.
He has presented his research at conferences at home and abroad; notably at the Perform Live Festival Conference at the National Concert Hall 2023; at the Doctors in Performance Conference at the Royal Academy of Music, London, and for the Irish branch of EPTA (European Piano Teacherâs Association). Billy is founder and Artistic Director of the Waterford Chamber Music Festival which was launched in summer 2024.
We are delighted to welcome Billy as our adjudicator for the 3rd Edition of the B# Piano Competition. His wealth of experience will prove invaluable to all the competitors in this year’s B# Piano Competition, and he is looking forward to all the performances!
Location
Litton Hall,
Wesley House,
Dublin 6,
D06 N5P0
Contact
Email: team@besharppiano.ie
WhatsApp: +353 87 350 4317
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FAQ
Application Process Questions
Simply press any of the âApply Nowâ buttons or go to this link, and follow the steps to complete your application.
First you will be asked for the competitorâs information including their teacherâs information, then you will be asked to select the competition and list the repertoire to be played. Finally, you will be directed to the payments page. All payments are done securely through Stripe.
Once your payment has been received, both you and your teacher will receive a confirmation email.
Yes, of course as long as there is no overlap of repertoire. This means that you cannot present the same piece for more than one competition. However, the 1st prize winner of a category (e.g. Sonatina u9) cannot participate in the same category again.
Unfortunately, our website does not allow you to apply for multiple competitions at once. You will have to submit a new entry for each competition. There is no additional service fee required. Apologies for the inconvenience caused.Â
If you are entering more than 3 competitions, you may send us an email with the required information (Name, Date of Birth, Address, Teacherâs Name & Email, Competitions to be Entered and Corresponding Repertoire), and we can send you a payment link. Whichever you prefer. Donât hesitate to contact us at team@besharppiano.ie.
We will have finalized competition dates and times by Midnight Sunday the 4th May. Any further questions feel free to reach out at team@besharppiano.ie).
Competition Process Questions
Competitors are asked to arrive at least 15 minutes before the competition start time. We will have team members available to help out in the waiting area and competition hall. There are no practice facilities available.
Team members may ask to take photographs of your child to put on our social media or website. If you do not consent to this, please just let the team member know.Â
Anyone can attend the competition free of charge. To ensure a competition environment, audio and visual recording is strictly prohibited and may lead to qualification. Additionally, audience members are asked not to enter or exit the competition hall during performances.
Results will be announced at the end of every category. Everyone will receive feedback and a comment sheet. 1st place will win a trophy and a gold medal, and 2nd place will win a silver medal. The trophy must be returned the following year with the engraving taken care of. Commendations may also be awarded.
In the waiting area, concert programs will be available to purchase at âŹ5 each. Additionally, we will have some products for sale as well. If you are a business and would like to sell products in the waiting room (e.g. cupcakes etc.) please get in touch at team@besharppiano.ie. We are looking for sponsors to help make this competition a success.
A full list of competition rules can be found here. Some of the important rules are as follows:
- – Use of any audio or visual recording is strictly prohibited and may lead to disqualification.
- – The adjudicator is not obliged to give all the prizes. Their decision is final. Competitors and members of the audience may not approach the adjudicator before, during, or after a class to discuss decisions or results.Â
- – Copies of the original music to be performed should be provided for the adjudicator. Photocopies may be used when the original music is also present.
- – A minimum of 90 marks are required for 1st place and a minimum of 85 marks required for second place.
- – If a tie occurs for 1st place, the two competitors may be asked to perform again.
A copy of the music will need to be given to the adjudicator. This will be returned at the end of your performance. Ideally, please present an original book open to the right page for the adjudicator. However, if the book cannot be sourced, please bring a clean copy of the music without any written notations.
Prizewinners' Concert Questions
1st prize winners of each category are invited to perform at our Prizewinnersâ Concert. If one performer has won multiple 1st prizes, they will be given a choice of the category to represent. The unchosen categories will be represented by the 2nd prize competitor.Â
Anyone can attend the Prizewinnersâ Concert. Tickets will cost âŹ10 per adult, and âŹ15 for two adults. Each ticket will come with a voting card for the Audience Award to be awarded on the day.
All performers at the Prizewinnersâ Concert will be competing for the Adjudicatorâs Award and the Audience Award. The two biggest trophies we have to offer.
All tickets to the Prizewinnersâ Concert come with a voting card. At the end of all the performances, audience members will be asked to write their favourite performer on the back of their voting card. These will be collected and the performer with the most number of votes will be awarded the Audience Prize.Â
Sponsors of the B# Piano Competition are entitled to additional votes. If you would like to sponsor the competition and have your name listed in the sponsorâs area of our Concert Program, get free entry to the Prizewinnersâ Concert, or even name a trophy, please check out the sponsors page or get in touch at team@besharppiano.ie.
