Bowling Green State University will open its doors to 26 high school pianists from across the
country with an international flavor added by students arriving from the Interlochen Arts Academy in
Michigan to compete in the David D. Dubois Piano Festival and Competition Feb. 8, 9 and 10.Dr. Laura
Melton, who coordinates the competition, said the quality of pianists applying and being accepted to the
competition continues to increase.Last year, she said, she felt the top 10 competitors really stood out.
Now twice that many have a shot at winning."It’s a great crop," Melton said. "I think
we’re figuring out the way to let people know about it."That included blasting emails to top piano
teachers around the country.One attraction is the generous prize money: $3,000 for first place, $2,000
for second and $1,000 for third.Some families, Melton said, "are really ambitious and would send
their kids to everything under the sun."Classical music instruction thrives in some areas, southern
California, Cleveland and Ann Arbor, being among them.As in the past, the Dubois competition has
coordinated with the Festival Series to bring in pianists at the same time.This year it is the Anderson
& Roe Duo. They will give a master class on that Friday from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. followed by a
question and answer session.They will perform on that Saturday at 8 p.m. and then the next day will
comprise two-thirds of the judging panel for the finals, which begin at 9 a.m. and continue until about
noon."It could go longer," Melton cautioned.Though they’ve competed, Greg Anderson and
Elizabeth Roe say they’ve never judged a competition before.Anderson said he expects the task to be
difficult. "It’s not a race. It’s not whoever got there the fastest.""We’re going to look
for who moves us," Roe said. "Who has something compelling to say and brings imagination to
what they play."Melton said she looks for "the ability to project personality to the audience
…. Those are the people I want to hear. … I’d rather hear somebody take risks and play with
personality and color.""Competitions are very good and helpful," Anderson said. They
inspired young performs to practice harder and polish pieces to a higher level.
