The Musical Arts Society of New Orleans (MASNO) will present the 18^th annual New Orleans International Piano Competition (NOIPC) from July 24 – July 30, 2006, at Loyola’s Roussel Hall. Twelve semifinalists have been chosen from a field of 134 applicants and invited to come to New Orleans to compete. They are: Soojin Ahn, United States; Jun Asai, United States; Eugene Choi, Korea ; Dustin Gledhill, United States; Alexei Gulenco, Moldova; Dmitri Levkovich, Canada; Yusuke Kikuchi, Japan; Sun-A Park, United States; Young-Ah Tak, Korea; Chetan Tierra, United States; Konstantyn Travinskyy, Ukraine; and Assaff Weisman, Israel.

Semifinal Round I will take place over three evenings, Monday, July 24 – Wednesday, July 26. Beginning at 7 p.m. each evening, four competitors will each present a thirty-five minute recital. All twelve semifinalists will be heard again in Semifinal Round II, Thursday and Friday evenings beginning at 7 p.m. Six pianists will each perform for twenty minutes each evening. For the first time, an "Audience Favorite Prize" of $1,000 will be awarded the semifinalist receiving the highest number of votes from the competition audience. Any audience member attending all five evenings of Semifinal Rounds I and II will be eligible to cast a ballot.

Following Friday’s performances the competition jurors will determine the three contestants who will advance to the Final Round on Sunday afternoon, July 30. This round will begin at 2 p.m. and will feature each of the three finalists in a fifty-minute recital. The jury’s decision will be announced shortly after the conclusion of the third performance on Sunday afternoon. The twelve semifinalists are competing for prizes totaling more than $30,000 and performance opportunities with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra, and Lafayette’s Acdiana Symphony Orchestra. The winner of the first prize will also be presented in recital at London’s Wigmore Hall.

The 2006 NOIPC jurors are Gregory Allen, University of Texas (Austin), James Giles, Northwestern University (Illinois), Jennifer Hayghe, Ithaca College (New York), Frank Heneghan, Ireland, and Robin Williams, University of New Orleans. For more information and to order tickets call (504) 899-4826 or visit MASNO’s website at www.masno.org

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