IPEA INTERNATIONAL PERCUSSION COMPETITION

Shanghai, China

WFIMC: Please tell us the background, history and legacy of your competition.

Zhou Xiong: International Percussion Education Association is an international organization founded in 2014 with the aim to promote and develop everything percussion. And the IPEA International Percussion Competition was established in 2016. It has been held six times so far. The next competition will be held in Shanghai in 2023. The Competition is hosted and fully sponsored by Shanghai Conservatory of Music, and organized by the International Percussion Center of Shanghai Conservatory of Music and IPEA. The president of the competition is Professor Changyong Liao , President of Shanghai Conservatory of Music. As one of Shanghai Conservatory of Music’s international competitions, it exemplifies the institution’s mission and vision, using percussion to build bridges to other international competitions. At the same time, as a member of the International Music Council (IMC), IPEA also undertakes the responsibility and mission of protecting and promoting percussion-related culture, as well as education and development.

Has your competition changed after the pandemic?

The pandemic has a great impact on all walks of life. For the sixth competition in 2021, when the pandemic was severe all over the world, judges and contestants could not travel to Shanghai normally, so we had no choice but to set the competition as an online competition. The online competition can indeed realize the normal holding of competitions, but it lacks a lot of links, such as concerts, master classes, education forums, judges' exchanges and so on. Not only does the online competition lack the stage effect, but it also doesn't feel particularly "real" to the contestants . So in order to bring a better experience to the competition, we currently set the 2023 competition to be offline.

Where do you see the biggest chance, the biggest opportunities for your future laureates? Or, to be more direct: why should someone apply to your competition?

Since 2016, we have hosted six IPEA International Percussion Competitions to great interest and acclaim. Performers, experts, scholars and enthusiasts, both of percussion and other fields, domestic and international, have contributed to setting up a performance and exchange platform with high standards, which is professional in its scale and structure. For example, the total prize money of IPEA competition is up to $31,500, and the competition also will set up a time for contestants to communicate with the judges face-to-face after the Second Round. Entries will include both Chinese works and commissioned Work. The Organizing Committee will provide the winners with the opportunity to give a concert as appropriate. The First Prize winner will be included in the list of judges for subsequent IPEA International Percussion Competitions, etc.

Which country/regions are most prominent among your competitors?

In terms of the participants of the last tournament, most of the competitors of IPEA are from Asia, Europe and North America. Although the IPEA competition does not cover the other 4 continents, I believe that competitors from all over the world will join the IPEA event in the near future.

Do you have any wish or suggestion for the WFIMC membership?

I hope that under the leadership of WFIMC, we can use music to connect different nationalities and cultures around the world to provide a stage for young people. I also hope that all members of WFIMC can unite to face challenges together.