Music Conservatory Pianist Awarded Bronze Prize

Martin Shahbazyan, Piano Instructor in the FWCD Music Conservatory, won The Piano Campus de Bronze Prize in the Piano Campus International Piano Competition in Pontoise, France, in February.

Shahbazyan teaches piano lessons in the FWCD Music Conservatory while studying to complete an Artist Diploma in Piano Performance at TCU. The artist diploma is a performance-focused professional post-graduate degree that allows students to focus strictly on performance in their chosen musical instrument.

The Piano Campus International Piano Competition is a well-known competition in Europe, and Shahbazyan was chosen as one of the top 12 semifinalists out of 100 competitors to travel to Pontoise, France, to compete in person. 

During the competition, Shahbazyan played pieces by Chopin, Bach, Liszt, Scarlatti, Ravel and Beethoven. For the first round of the competition, semifinalists played a 30-minute recital consisting of four pieces, which included one designated piece by Maurice Ravel, A la manière de Chabrier, and the rest selected by the individual pianist from a representative piano repertoire of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. The jury selected three finalists from that field of 12 competitors to play in the final round.

As a finalist, Shahbazyan played a selected piece for piano and orchestra called Concerto-Minute by Regis Campo, a contemporary French composer who also served on the piano competition jury. Shahbazyan also played the Chopin Concerto No. 1 in E minor with the CRR de Cergy-Pontoise Symphony Orchestra, directed by Haik Davtian. The finals resulted in a bronze prize win for Shahbazyan.

Shahbazyan shared that he enjoyed his time in France playing in the competition, attending master classes, and meeting the other competitors. He also loved the walking culture and architecture in France. The FWCD Music Conservatory is very fortunate to have such a high-caliber artist and piano instructor on the FWCD campus each week to work with the students.