Currently in it’s 3rd edition, the Malaysian Piano Competition is a joint initiative established by the Euroasia Association of Performing Arts and the Malaysian Youth Orchestra Foundation (MYOF) in 2018.
Euroasia and MYOF’s first partnership in 2017 was a move forward to encourage collaboration between organisations with similar objectives – to provide more music students with performance opportunities as well as to improve performing standards. Hence, the national-level Final Round was introduced to encourage higher standards in performing skills, and to recognize the achievements of winning participants in the various regions.
With the aim of instigating music making of the highest level at various parts of Malaysia, Euroasia launched the inaugural Piano Festival in Kuching, Sarawak in 2016. The success of the first festival encouraged the Association to follow on with two new regions in 2017: Johor Bahru and Kuala Lumpur, in partnership with two dynamic organisations, the Johor Society for the Performing Arts and Malaysian Youth Orchestra Foundation (MYOF). The response from these piano festivals were most promising and has propelled Euroasia to follow with three more venues in 2018 – Penang, Kuantan and Negeri Sembilan; and Miri, in 2020.
MYOF organizes an annual music festival since 2007, and even though the events were getting bigger by the year, the Foundation saw that there is a need to reach out to students and teachers from all over Malaysia more effectively, as the majority of the participants for the Malaysian Youth Music Festival are from the Klang Valley, some from major towns all over Malaysia and others from around South and East Asia.
With the surge of music competitions organized by many other organizations over the last few years, the Foundation recognizes that collaboration among different establishments is essential in order to provide a higher-quality and fair platform for performance and opportunity for recognition. Hence, the partnership with Euroasia which started the KL Piano Festival in 2017, and the Penang Piano Festival in 2018.
With a total of 7 Regional Preliminary Round locations in Malaysia – Johor Bahru, Kuala Lumpur, Kuantan, Kuching, Miri, Negeri Sembilan and Penang – Gold Prize Winners from these regions will have the opportunity to take up an additional challenge and achieve a higher level of musical performance through the national-level Finals.
Registration for the Regional Preliminaries opening soon – stay tuned!
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