"Pianists from several countries, such as Australia, France, America, Japan, Korea, and Singapore, participate in the competition," Chairman of Bali Open Piano Competition 2017, Eleonora Aprilita, stated here on Saturday.
Aprilita noted that the event has attracted a lot of participants, especially foreign tourists with high spending.
"Participants are enthusiastic about joining this competition," she added.
Each participant, she noted, will be escorted by its family. One pianist can bring at least five members of his family.
"They will book hotel rooms and visit tourism spots in Bali. Therefore, the competition will serve as a boost for the tourism industry in Bali," she remarked.
In 2016, the tourist destination of Bali Island received 4.92 million foreign tourists, an increase of 23.14 percent over the previous year, which was recorded at 4.001 million people.
Based on data from Bali Central Statistics Agency (BPS), as many as 4.85 million people take flights directly from their country through Ngurah Rai Airport, and the remaining 75,303 people travel through the sea port.
Participants from a total of 12 categories compete in the competition.
The category of choice songs is divided into six categories, namely A, which includes participants who are maximum 7 years old; B, which includes participants who are between the age of 8 and 9; C, which includes participants who are between the age of 10 and 11; D, which includes participants who are between the age of 12 and 14; E, which includes participants who are between the age of 15 and 17; and F, which includes participants who are minimum 18 years of age.
Then, there are six free categories, free of A-F, who will compete to play the piano with Baroque theme, which is the composers work of 1600-1750; classical era, which is the composer's work of 1750-1820; romantic era, which is composers work in the early 1800s-1900s; and modern times, the work of composers in the 20th and 21st century.
The competition takes place in two rounds. In the preliminary round, participants must play one song. Participants selected in the next round must play one song. Songs played in the final round should not be the same as those played in the preliminary round.
"All participants will get a certificate," she stated.
Then, the jury will announce three winners under each category. Winners will receive trophies, winning certificates, and prizes from the sponsors. (*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2017
