in partnership with the Center for Mallet Percussion Research
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Thank you to our sponsors!
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Schedule of Events
First video submission round due February 1st, 2025 Semi-finalists will be notified mid-February.
Poster sessions and sponsors & VPI merch tables throughout the day
Date |
Morning |
Afternoon |
Evening |
DAY 1 (5/23) |
2nd round competition Open to public Classical & Jazz category take place concurrently |
2nd round competition Open to public Classical & Jazz category take place concurrently |
Final round in evening concert (Ticketed) 3 performers in each category. 6 total. Winners announced at the end of concert Open to public Ticketed event |
DAY 2 (5/24) |
Masterclass & Clinic Ayano Kataoka 10am-11am: Ayano masterclass (prior registration required) 11am-11:15am: Break 11:15am-12:05pm: Ayano Clinic 12:05pm-1pm: Lunch |
Masterclass & Clinic Oliver Mayman 1:00pm-2:00pm: Oliver masterclass 2:00pm-2:15pm: Break 2:15pm-3:05pm: Oliver class 3:05pm-3:15pm: Break VPI Officers 3:15pm-4:30pm: VPI Clinics Afternoon Concert for Call for Scores showcases 5pm-6:30pm |
Evening Concert Winners showcase Guest judges |
*Schedule is subject to change
Competition Details
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Competition Categories
Classical and Jazz Age No age groups or limit! Application deadline February 1st, 2025 Via the Google Form, video submission unlisted on YouTube. Entry Fee $20 via PayPal here ([email protected]) Judges (Classical & Jazz) 1st round: Dr. Matthew Geiger, Dr. Joey Van Hassel, Dr. Brian Graiser 1st round: Jen Martinez-Bre, Jerry Tachoir 2nd & final round: Ayano Kataoka, Dr. Matthew Lau 2nd & final round: Oliver Mayman, Jen Martinez-Bre |
1st Round
Video Submission (Videos are due February 1st, 2025) Applicants moving on to the in-person rounds will be notified mid-Feb. 2nd Round In-person May 23rd, 2025. Center for Mallet Percussion Research (CMPR) in Kutztown, PA (USA) Final Round In-person evening concert (May 24th, 2025: CMPR)
Prizes Judge’s feedback for the first round Merch from sponsors with a total value of $3000! Mallets, mallet bags, percussion accessories, auxiliary instruments. 8 prizes total! (1 winner, second, third places prize, Audience Choice Award in classical & jazz) Prizes sponsors: Marimba One, Black Swamp Percussion, Encore Mallets/Salyers Percussion, Malletech, Dream Cymbals, and Artifact Percussion. |
Meet Our External Judges:
Oliver Mayman
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Ayano Kataoka
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From Ann Arbor, MI, and now based in Philadelphia, Oliver Mayman is a vibraphonist, composer, arranger, and educator. Beginning on the drums and piano, the vibraphone was an inevitable discovery as a teenager – the instrument essentially fusing the mechanics of drumming with the harmonic capabilities of the piano. He earned a B.M. from Temple University in 2023, studying with Tony Miceli and Bruce Barth, and has since quickly become a distinguished voice on the instrument, redefining its role in music through an inventive technical approach and a discerning creative ear.
He has performed as a bandleader across the Midwest and East Coast at storied venues like Cliff Bell’s, the Blue LLama, and Chris’ Jazz Cafe, and has also been featured in several larger, iconic events like the Detroit Jazz Festival and the Percussive Arts Society International Convention. Additionally a sought-after accompanist and sideman, he has performed in countless other venues with various groups, and aims to play the vibraphone as a suitable alternative to the piano, capable of fully assuming a rhythmically and harmonically supportive role in any setting. He also has extensive experience as an educator, teaching a full private studio of vibraphone students in addition to being on faculty at vibesworkshop.com, the largest online vibraphone community in the world. With a unique approach and pedagogical method to the instrument, he advocates his own novel dampening techniques, adaptations of pianistic ideas, and other innovative 4-mallet concepts, in addition to the fundamentals required by any modern musician. He is also the author of “Dampening Studies,” a comprehensive method for dampening on the vibraphone. In 2022, he was selected as a Yamaha Young Performing Artist Competition jazz winner. He was also a member of the 2022 JM Jazz World Orchestra, which tours Europe each summer. In 2021, he won the Italy Percussive Arts Society jazz vibraphone competition, the largest of its kind. He endorses Malletech instruments and mallets. https://www.olivermayman.com/bio |
Percussionist and marimbist Ayano Kataoka is known for her brilliant and dynamic technique, as well as the unique elegance and artistry she brings to her performances. She is currently Professor of Percussion at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where she is honored to receive The 2023-24 Distinguished Faculty Lecture Series and Chancellor’s Medal. She has been a season artist of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center since 2006 when she was chosen as the first percussionist for the society’s prestigious residency program, The Bowers Program (formerly Chamber Music Society Two), a three-season residency program for emerging artists offering high-profile performance opportunities in collaboration with The Chamber Music Society. A retrospective of her early life along with interviews and performances were featured on the CMS’ live stream program Artist Series in fall 2021.
Together with cellist Yo-Yo Ma at the American Museum of Natural History, Ms. Kataoka gave a world premiere of Bruce Adolphe’s Self Comes to Mind for cello and two percussionists, based on a text by neuroscientist Antonio Damasio, and featuring interactive video images of brain scans triggered by the live music performance. She presented a solo recital as part of the prestigious B to C (Bach to Contemporary) recital series at Tokyo Opera City Recital Hall, which was broadcast on NHK, the national public station of Japan. Other highlights of her performances include a performance of Steven Mackey’s Micro-Concerto for Percussion Solo and Chamber Ensemble at Alice Tully Hall, a theatrical performance of Stravinsky's Soldier's Tale at the 92nd Street Y with violinist Jaime Laredo and actors Alan Alda and Noah Wyle, and performances of Bartok’s Sonata for Two Pianos and percussion with pianist Emanuel Ax. Her music festival appearances include Music@Menlo, Chamber Music Northwest, Yellow Barn, Lake Champlain, Caramoor, Bridgehampton, Skaneateles, Emerald City Music, ChamberFest West, and Salt Bay Chamberfest. Her performances can be also heard on the Deutsche Grammophon, Naxos, New World, Bridge, New Focus, and Albany recording labels. Since 2013, Ms. Kataoka has toured in the U.S. and Mexico extensively as a percussionist for Cuatro Corridos, a chamber opera led by Grammy Award winning soprano Susan Narucki and noted Mexican author Jorge Volpi that addresses human trafficking across the U.S.-Mexican border. The recording of Cuatro Corridos on the Bridge Records label has earned a 2017 Latin Grammy Nomination in the Best Contemporary Classical Composition category. A leading proponent of contemporary repertoire, Ms. Kataoka has commissioned and/or premiered works for percussion by such composers as George Crumb, Paul Lansky, Alejandro Viñao, James Wood, and Lukas Ligeti. She is particularly drawn to compositions that involve the whole person, using standard percussion instruments and unique musical materials along with spoken voice, singing, acting, and elegant props. She has given numerous performances and master classes throughout the U.S. and Canada featuring Stuart Saunders Smith’s percussion/theatre music. She also appeared as an onstage musician with a small acting part in the Yale Repertory Theatre production of Shakespeare's All's Well That Ends Well. A native of Japan, Ms. Kataoka began her marimba studies at age five, and percussion at fifteen. She started her performing career as a marimbist with a tour of China at the age of nine. She received her Bachelor of Music degree from Tokyo University of the Arts, her Master of Music degree from Peabody Conservatory, and her Artist Diploma degree from Yale School of Music, where she studied with marimba virtuoso Robert van Sice. https://www.ayanokataoka.com/biography |
VPI Judges
Click on the photos below to learn more about our judges:
Dr. Matthew Geiger |
Dr. Joseph Van Hassel |
Dr. Brian Graiser |
Jerry Tachoir
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Jen Martinez-Bre
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Dr. Matthew Lau
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