Young pianists in Southern New England who have not yet entered college have an opportunity to perform at the University of Rhode Island and to win cash and other prizes along with recognition for their talent and dedication. Registration for the 2007 “Piano Extravaganza!” Festival Piano Competition offered by the URI Department of Music in Kingston, RI, is now open, with applications due by a final postmark deadline of Saturday, March 1.

Participants in the judged competition, which takes place on Sunday, March 11, are asked to perform a 10-15 minute solo selection from memory. The competition is divided into divisions appropriate to the age and school grade of the participants, and runs from 2pm to approximately 5pm in the URI Fine Arts Center, with presentation of awards at the closing.

Judges this year will include pianist Eric Mazonson and Roxana Tourigny, coordinator of the Great Performances concert series.

The competition is part of the three-day “Piano Extravaganza!” Festival at URI, that also will include concerts on both Friday and Saturday evenings, March 9 and 10. Contestants are required to attend the Saturday concert, and a minimum donation of $25 to the URI Music Department is also required in lieu of an application fee. Registration forms are available from the department office.

The festival and competition are coordinated by award-winning concert pianist and director of URI’s piano program, Dr Manabu Takasawa. He conceived and organized the first competition in 2004, and has seen it grow in size and quality each year since then.

Registration forms and more are available at www.pianoextravaganza.org. For more information, call the URI Music Department at 874-2431 or Dr Takasawa at 874-2790, or email takasawa@uri.edu.