Pre-college students will take an opportunity to have their work critiqued by judges on Saturday.
Pianothon, an event held by the Southeast District of the Ohio Music Teachers Association, includes an assessment of musicianship skills, sight-reading and recitals.
The yearly event provides an opportunity for pre-college students, mainly kindergarten through eighth or ninth grade, to receive an evaluation of their skills. Students will also perform in free recitals on Saturday.
“Students play anything and everything,” said Marsha Reilly, an organizer of the event and a teacher at the Athens Community Music School. “Some of the real little kids are playing very short pieces. Some kids play popular songs; there is Bach, Mozart, Beethoven. It’s a wide range of music.”
The yearly event typically includes 30 to 40 students, divided into groups based on skills.
Originally the event was split into two separate events but was combined three years ago into one session. When the original events combined, the committees put a lot of planning into the level assignments.
“The very first level, they do very simple things and we’ve never had anyone get all the way to level 10, but that’s pretty complex,” Reilly said.
Most students fall into the range of two to four in regards to skill level, she added. Students will be judged in a musicianship test and receive comments to help them improve their work.
The music therapy students from OU also created a “Music Enrichment Room” for the event, Reilly said. There will be games and activities for students and provide a place to relax and unwind.
The skills learned in Pianothon are a part of the general curriculum for the Athens Community Music School, but with a goal to work toward, it can make the learning more exciting, Reilly said.
“First of all, it gives them a goal to work toward. We have two levels in the musicianship skills so they’re gradually increasing in their skills year by year in a very measured kind of way.”
@liz_backo
eb823313@ohio.edu
