Harold Protsman Classical Period Piano Competition to Be Held Saturday, March 21

The Old Dominion University Department of Music will hold its 22nd annual Harold Protsman Classical Period Piano Competition Saturday, March 21. The final competition, judged by Peter Takacs of the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music, begins at 2:30 p.m. in Chandler Recital Hall of the Diehn Fine and Performing Arts Center. It is free and open to the public.

Each spring, approximately 70 local, regional and national students are accepted to compete at five different levels - kindergarten through college. The annual classical period piano competition was renamed in 2007 to honor Protsman, now a professor emeritus of music, for his many years of dedication, professionalism and service to both the music department and the competition.

In addition to judging the finals, Takacs will give a master class for selected winners at 3 p.m. Sunday, March 22, co-sponsored by the Tidewater Music Teachers Forum. Both the final competition and the master class, to be held in Chandler Recital Hall, are free and open to the public.

The competition is funded, in part, by the F. Ludwig Diehn Fund of The Norfolk Foundation and by a generous gift from Helen and Warren Aleck.

In conjunction with the competition, the Old Dominion University Libraries presents "Striking Strings: Historical Highlights," an exhibit containing examples of mechanisms used to strike strings and create sound in keyboard instruments from early clavichord to the modern piano.

The exhibit will be on display in the atrium of the Diehn Fine and Performing Arts Center until March 25. Contact music cataloger Laura Brown at 683-4187 for more information.