Basel International Piano Accompanist Competition 2025

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Entry Start: Sunday, January 5, 2025
Entry Deadline: Friday, February 28, 2025
Announcement of Results: March 15, 2025
Judging Format: Online video screening (YouTube, private link)

Eligibility

No restrictions on nationality or age.

Categories

A. Vocal Piano Accompaniment
B. Instrumental Piano Accompaniment
C. Vocal & Instrumental Piano Accompaniment

Performance Requirements

• Time Limit: Maximum 15 minutes, minimum 2 pieces
• Repertoire: Classical music from Baroque to Contemporary
• Performances must feature vocal or instrumental works with piano accompaniment.

Participation Fee

JPY 15,000

• PayPal:
Please make payments via the dedicated competition website.
Participants from outside Japan must use PayPal.

Jury

The jury will consist of pianists with expertise in both vocal and instrumental accompaniment.

Kathleen Bird American pianist and organist Kathleen Bird  has extensive experience throughout Germany accompanying recitalists and serving as Korrepetitorin for large scale oratorio works as well as conducting many musical theatre productions. Based in Berlin, Ms. Bird enjoys her studio where she coaches singers in operatic, sacred and art song repertoire. Kathleen is the founder of The English Choir Berlin and has served as its principal conductor since 2013. The choir performs regularly at the Berlin Cathedral, where it has presented both commissioned and world premiere works. Under Ms. Bird's direction, The English Choir Berlin has concertized throughout Germany, Italy, France and Great Britain in venues such as: Notre Dame in Paris, Santa Maria di Maggiore in Rome, the Cologne Cathedral in Cologne and Westminster Abbey in London. The choir presents a wide ranging repertoire from the Medieval period through contemporary compositions - continuing a tradition set forth by both British and American chamber choirs.  In addition to her musical activities, Ms. Bird, along with her husband, commanded a sailing vessel - christened 'The Vilisar' - and spent a decade exploring the Pacific Ocean.

Hideaki Ishiyama  Pianist with a sensitive and dynamic expression reminiscent of an orchestra and a wide repertoire. He studied piano at Hochschule der Künste Berlin and began performing while still a student there. He attended master classes with world-renowned teacher George Sebök and chamber music lessons with Thomas Brandis, concertmaster of the Berlin Philharmonic, and Wolfgang Boettcher, principal of the same orchestra. Since returning to Japan, he has appeared in various concerts and in recent years has performed with many singers at home and abroad as an accompanist for operas and songs, and has led many successful performances as repetiteur for opera productions. In the field of music instruction, he also devotes himself to a wide range of piano, solfège, singing and choral instruction for children and adults. Studied under Tadakatsu Naito, Ken Ara and Klaus Hellwig. Currently professor at Ohka Gakuen University(Aichi JAPAN).

Hiroko Nagao   Graduated from the Music Department of Toho Girls’ High School and majored in piano at the Faculty of Music, Toho Gakuen College of Music. Completed the Accompaniment Research Program at the Vocal Department of the same university. She began her career as an accompanist with performances for Metropolitan Opera soloists during their Japan tour and has since collaborated with musicians both in Japan and abroad. She was a finalist in the Piano Accompaniment Division at the 1st Japan Mozart Music Competition and received the Best Accompanist Award as well as the 10th Tatsuo Mizutani Prize in the piano accompaniment jury of a German Lied competition. In 2019 and 2024, she served as an accompanist at the Osaka-Kobe International Music Festival, where she received the Excellence in Piano Artistic Guidance Award. She was also named an Honorary Artist of the International Music and Dance Exchange Promotion Association. In 2021, she was awarded the Accompanist Prize and the Leonid Maksimov Prize in the accompaniment jury of the 1st Basel International Vocal Competition. She studied accompaniment under the late Takao Shiraishi. In 2022, she obtained a qualification as a psychological counselor. Since 2023, she has been organizing her own project, “The Light of Paintings and the Resonance of Music: A Space of Serenity,” hosting performances twice in Shinjuku, and in Karuizawa, Kofu, and Morioka. Currently, she is a member of the Life Stage Mental® Musicians’ Association and the Japan Federation of Musicians. 【中国語】长尾博子（Nagao Hiroko）简历： 毕业于桐朋女子高中音乐科，随后从桐朋学园大学音乐学部钢琴专业毕业，并修完了该大学声乐系伴奏研究课程。自为大都会歌剧院独唱演员的来日演奏会担任伴奏以来，她与国内外的演奏家们多次合作。曾在第一届日本莫扎特音乐比赛钢琴伴奏部门中入选，并在德国艺术歌曲比赛中荣获最佳伴奏者奖及第十届水谷达夫奖。2019年和2024年，在大阪神户国际音乐节中担任伴奏，并获得了优秀钢琴艺术指导奖。被选为国际音乐舞蹈交流促进会名誉艺术家。 2021年，在第一届巴塞尔国际声乐比赛的伴奏评审中荣获伴奏者奖及列昂尼德·马克西莫夫奖。 长尾博子师从已故的白石隆生教授学习伴奏法。2022年取得心理咨询师资格。自2023年起，新宿举办了两次“绘画的光与音乐的响声——宁静空间”系列活动，并在轻井泽、甲府、盛冈等地开展。

Prizes

• Grand Prize: Basel International Piano Accompanist Award
• Professional Accompanist Award
• Collaborative Performer Award
• Vocal Accompanist Award
• Instrumental Accompanist Award
• Outstanding Accompanist Award

Total Prize Money: JPY 100,000
In strict compliance with the rules of our competition, if the winners are eligible for the prize money, the prize money will be awarded to the top winners.
However, the total prize money will be divided and awarded to multiple winners.

Special Awards:
1. Concert performance on March 23, 2025, at Ongaku no Tomo Hall.
2. Salon concert on April 19, 2025, at Piano Salon Tokyo, Den-en-Chofu.
3. Performance at the Basel Music Festival Autumn 2025 on November 2, 2025, at Oji Hall, Ginza, Tokyo.
4. Selected winners will perform in these concerts free of charge.
5. Selected winners will receive free special lessons from jury members.
6. Exceptional winners may be appointed as official pianists for Supraleitung Methode Japan.

Certificates

• Domestic participants will receive physical certificates by mail.
• International participants will receive digital certificates.
Certificates will not be reissued under any circumstances.

Entry Procedure

1. Submit your application through the official website’s entry form (formrun system).
2. Please configure your email to receive messages from musik.bs.europa@gmail.com and the formrun system.
3. Attach proof of age (student ID, passport, etc.) and a copy of the participation fee receipt.
4. Submit a video recorded after January 2024.
5. Recording locations may include music studios, salons, concert halls, practice rooms, or homes.
6. Orchestra accompaniment is not allowed.
7. Record videos showing the upper body or full body. (Refer to past winning videos if needed.)
8. The performance video should be sent as a YouTube link. (please make sure to change the privacy setting to “unlisted”). （For Bilibili, only public settings）

9. Minor time overages are acceptable; judging will only consider the performance within the time limit.
10. Ensure audio levels are appropriately adjusted.
11. The video quality will also be considered in the judging.
12. Participants must independently handle any necessary copyright permissions.
13. Video submissions cannot be altered or withdrawn after submission.
14. In case of issues with the formrun system, contact us via email.
15. Check the website for updates.

Rules and Regulations

1. All media rights, including internet, newspaper, and magazine coverage, belong to the Basel International Piano Accompanist Competition 2025.
2. Participants must check results on the competition website.
3. Jury feedback will be sent via email approximately one month after the competition.
4. Feedback may vary depending on the number of participants per category.
5. Jury decisions are final, and no appeals will be accepted.
6. Jury members may change without prior notice.
7. In strict compliance with the rules of our competition, if the winners are eligible for the prize money, the prize money will be awarded to the top winners.
However, the total prize money will be divided and awarded to multiple winners.
8. Winners’ performances may be published or shared with third parties.
9. Unauthorized removal of videos during the competition will result in disqualification.
10. Misrepresentation of age or educational background will result in disqualification and revocation of awards.
11. Personal information will be managed securely by the organizing committee.
12. In the event of force majeure (natural disasters, war, etc.), the competition may be canceled, and participation fees will be refunded after deducting administrative costs.
13. The competition reserves the right to modify regulations as necessary based on global circumstances.
14. Participation fees are non-refundable under normal circumstances.
15. Inquiries regarding scoring and prize allocation will not be entertained.

Organizing Committee

Basel International Piano Accompanist Competition Committee
General Incorporated Association Supraleitung Methode Japan
Email: musik.bs.europa@gmail.com

Japanese Website: https://www.klassikwettbewerbbasel.info
English Website: https://online.basel-vocalconcours.org

Upload Date: December 1, 2024