We are delighted to announce the launch of EPTA UK Piano Competition 2027! The aim of this year’s Competition is to inspire, encourage, motivate and honour high levels of piano playing and piano teaching nationwide, and to promote musical awareness through participation in performing.
Rules of Entry
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The competition has an age limit of 25 and under (at 31st August 2027) for all graded categories.
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Entrants are allowed to enter one solo class only but may also perform in a duet.
Find a Regional Heat
The Oxford Regional Heat has already been confirmed, and full details will be available shortly. We are currently awaiting confirmation of dates, venues and timings from further Regional Organisers. Additional heats will be added as arrangements are finalised, so please keep checking this page to find out when and where a competition will be taking place near you. As soon as the list is near completion, we will provide further details of how to submit entries so keep checking the website.
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Oxford – Sunday, 17th January 2027
Categories
Graded Classes
These are open to all pianists except for principal study pianists at specialist music schools or Junior Conservatoires. Participants from these institutions who are not principal study will need to confirm this on the entry form. The competition organisers reserve the right to contact the institution concerned if in any doubt.
Duet Classes
These are open to all pianists including those at a specialist music school, University, Junior or Senior Conservatoire.
Duets can progress to the Regional Finals but will not necessarily be included in the Final. This will depend on adjudicator recommendation and timings.
Age Range Classes
These are open to all pianists including those at a specialist music school, University, Junior or Senior Conservatoire.
If the demand for any Age Range Class is substantial, the adjudicator retains the right to select in advance part of the programme.
Regional Heats
- All participants will receive verbal and written adjudications and certificates of entry.
- Round 1 adjudicators and venues will be chosen by the Regional Organiser.
- Certificates of ‘high commendation’ will be awarded where appropriate by the adjudicator.
- The adjudicator will choose one performer from each class in each category to go forward into the regional final. A second can be considered only in exceptional circumstances if the adjudicator deems both performances to be ‘equally’ worthy.
- Performances selected for the regional finals must be “Outstanding”
It is not necessary or expected that anyone be ranked according to number or place. - If more than two performers received “Outstanding” a maximum of two may go through. There are no exceptions and this important rule must always be observed.
- If numbers are very small in a class, or no competitor achieves the required standard, there is no obligation to put students through to the regional finals.
- The preparatory class will have the option of non-competitive entries. All non-competitive entries will receive a certificate of participation but will not progress to the Regional Finals rounds. All first rounds must be completed by Sunday 28th February 2027.
Please note, each participant is welcome to bring one accompanying adult free of charge. Regional Organisers may either ask for venue entry fees (where applied) locally or request central collection by EPTA UK. Some regions already have their own arrangements in place, which will continue as normal. For others, EPTA UK will gather entry fees centrally – please speak to your Regional Organiser for further details.
Regional Finals
There will be Three Regional Finals between 2 and 22 March 2027. This may be increased to 4 depending on demand.
- North- Leeds
- South West – Bristol
- South – London
Classes, including duets, will be represented in the Regional Finals with 1st place awarded, and 2nd and 3rd places awarded at the adjudicator’s discretion and depending on the number of performers in each class.
Prizes
Graded Classes (Solo)
As well as an opportunity to compete in the Final, prizes will be awarded to the Regional final winner of each of the Graded Classes as follows:
- Preparatory £5.00
- Elementary £10.00
- Intermediate I £15.00
- Intermediate II £20.00
- Advanced I £25.00
- Advanced II £30.00
Duet Classes (The Duet category for 2027 will be based on age ranges – the repertoire for this category is often hard to define and not necessarily graded so after consultation with the ROs and the Management Committee the judgement is that category by age would be the fairest option.)
As well as an opportunity to compete in the Final, prizes will be awarded to each duet pair of the Regional Final winners of each of the Age Classes as follows:
- Teacher/Pupil No award
- 12 & Under: £15.00 for each performer
- 15 & Under: £20.00 for each performer
- 18 & Under: £25.00 for each performer
- 25 & Under: £30.00 for each performer
Age Classes (Solo)
As well as an opportunity to compete in the Final, prizes awarded to each of the Regional Final winners of each of the Age Classes as follows:
- 12 & Under: £20.00
- 15 & Under: £30.00
- 18 & Under: £40.00
- 25 & Under: £50.00
EPTA UK Grand Final – St Mary’s Church. Perivale Lane, Perivale, Middlesex, UB6 8SS
Winners of the Regional Finals will be invited to perform in the EPTA UK Piano Finals
Prizes awarded as follows:
- Best Three Performances from the Graded Classes: £80
- Best Three Performances from the Age Classes: £80
- Overall Winners of the EPTA UK Piano Competition: £200
For the first time this year, we are delighted to offer an additional prize of £200 for the for the best performance of any Chinese piece from these specific collections of pieces: https://epta-uk.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Repertoire-for-Dongyang-Yu-Award.docx
At the discretion of the jury, the overall winner(s) will also receive live concert opportunities including performances at the EPTA UK International Conference 2027, at Young Artist Recital at CIPSS at Chetham’s and a lunchtime concert as part of the Coventry ‘Mostly Piano’ series. They will also be given a spotlight article in EPTA UK’s prestigious Piano Professional magazine.
All Classes
Two or more contrasting pieces should be played in each round. The category entry for Graded Classes is determined by the piece of the highest grade in the set, all ages for Age Classes are their age on 31st August 2027.
A https://epta-uk.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/piano-competition-repertoire-2027.xlsx is available to assist teachers in the categorisation of pieces. This is an ongoing list. For enquiries, please contact admin@epta-uk.org. The competition organisers reserve the right to re-allocate a participant to a different class.
Participants may play the same or different repertoire in round 1 and the regional final so long as the grading level remains the same. EPTA must be notified of any changes in repertoire at least 10 working days prior to the Regional Final to ensure the programme is accurate by emailing admin@epta-uk.org.