Beethovenian Junior Piano Competition
October 24, 2026 - Baltimore, MD
A platform for young pianists to perform and be recognized, as well as to promote their learning and artistic growth.
A weekend of events featuring the competition, masterclass, and winners concert.
We extend our sincere thanks to Lutheran Village and Church of the Redeemer for their generous support in providing venues for our programs.
Applications open on September 1, 2026.
Rules & Regulations
Date
October 24, 2026
Location
Chapel/Performing Arts Center at Lutheran Village
9000 Fathers Legacy, Ellicott City, MD 21042
Eligibility
The Beethovenian Junior Piano Competition is open to pianists ages 5-18 residing in the DMV (D.C., Maryland, Virginia) area
Age Categories & Repertoire
Age 5–7
One piece of the participant's choice (performance up to 3 minutes)
Age 8–10
One or two pieces of the participant’s choice (performance up to 6 minutes)
Age 11–14
Two pieces of the participant’s choice from contrasting stylistic periods
(performance up to 8 minutes)
Age 15–18
Two pieces of the participant’s choice from contrasting stylistic periods
(performance up to 10 minutes)
* All repertoire must be selected from the recognized historical periods of Western classical music: Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and 20th/21st Century.
* The time limit refers to total performance time, not individual repertoire durations.
Awards
First Prize Winners
The First Prize Winners will be admitted to the Beethovenian Young Artist Program, which includes exclusive membership benefits and individualized artistic mentorship.
* Jury members reserve the right not to award a first prize.
All Prize Winners
All prize winners will receive:
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Performance opportunities in the Winners Concerts, presented at the Church of the Redeemer, the Chapel / Performing Arts Center at Lutheran Village, and in future Beethovenian Collective events
-
An official Certificate Diploma recognizing their achievement
-
Special Prize
The Beethoven Special Prize is awarded for an exceptional interpretation of a work by Ludwig van Beethoven, at the discretion of the jury.
* Jury decisions are final and may not be appealed.
Masterclass
October 24, 2026 at 6 PM
Chapel/Performing Arts Center at Lutheran Village
9000 Fathers Legacy, Ellicott City, MD 21042
* Jury members will select participants for the masterclass, regardless of prize results.
Winners' Concerts
October 25, 2026 at 3 PM
Church of the Redeemer
5603 N Charles St, Baltimore, MD 21210
March 2027
Chapel/Performing Arts Center at Lutheran Village
9000 Fathers Legacy, Ellicott City, MD 21042
March 2027
Private Salon
Important Dates
September 1, 2026 Applications Open
October 1, 2026 Applications Close
October 24, 2026 Beethovenian Junior Piano Competition
October 24, 2026 Masterclass
October 25, 2026 Winners Concert
Jury Members
Chad R. Bowles
Peabody Preparatory
Dubbed by Gramophone as "...a superb, confident technician and an intelligent stylist, who doesn’t have to prove anything...", American pianist Chad R. Bowles has performed hundreds of solo recitals across the United States, in Canada, and Europe. Commanding an unusually vast repertoire and an effortless technique, his performances of the standard as well as forgotten repertoire have brought him great respect and admiration from both critics and the public alike. A New England native, Mr. Bowles holds a bachelor's degree in Piano Performance from the University of New Hampshire and both a master's degree and the Graduate Performance Diploma from the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, Maryland. His primary teachers include Arlene Kies, Frederick Moyer, Alexander Shtarkman, and legendary American pianist Earl Wild. He makes his home with his wife and young children near Baltimore, Maryland, where he is full-time artist faculty and Chair of Piano at Peabody Preparatory and the Co-Director of the Peabody Piano Academy. In October, 2019, Chad R. Bowles was inducted into the Steinway & Sons Teacher Hall of Fame.
Marian Hahn
Peabody Conservatory
Marian Hahn has taught piano and chamber music at the Peabody Institute since 1987. She has performed in 48 of the United States and internationally as a soloist, and as a member of the Amabile Piano Quartet and Amadeus Trio. She was a prizewinner in the Leventritt and Busoni competitions and gave New York recitals as a Concert Artists Guild winner. She has served as a judge in competitions such as the Geneva International, Hilton Head, Concert Artists Guild and Fischoff, and has given guest master classes across the U.S and in Asia. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Oberlin College with a major in Comparative Religion, Hahn received her Master of Music degree the Juilliard School. Her teachers included John Perry, Ilona Kabos, Leon Fleisher, and Benjamin Kaplan.
Derek Hartman
Vanderbilt University
Derek Hartman is an award-winning pianist and a dedicated educator. He received the First Prize in the Seventeenth International Beethoven Competition Vienna in 2025; he is the only American-born musician to win top honors in the event’s sixty-year history. He has appeared as a soloist with the Vienna and Milwaukee Symphony Orchestras, and he has performed on such stages as the Terrace Theater at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. and the Golden Hall of the Musikverein in Vienna. Since 2024, Mr. Hartman has served as Lecturer of Piano at the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University. He is currently a Doctor of Musical Arts candidate at the Yale School of Music as a student of Boris Slutsky. His teachers have included Wei-Yi Yang, James Giles, and Paul Wirth. Mr. Hartman is a Bösendorfer Artist.