Dear Colleagues,
Since its inception in 2002, the Golden Key Music Festival of the United States has established itself as a major cultural event that attracts young instrumentalists and vocalists from across the United States and other continents. Its mission is to give young musicians the opportunity to display their talents on some of the most prestigious concert stages in the United States, to open for them the door into the magic world of art—a realm where almost everyone who steps on the stage is gratified with an incomparable feeling of self-affirmation
For the 2025 festival, applicants in seven age categories will be evaluated:
•5-7
•8-9
•10-11
•12-13
•14-15
•16-18
•19 and older
We calculate the category according to the age of the participant on the 1st of February.
Each application requires a recorded performance of the complete music selection intended for performance at the Festival. The music selection should be a part of the standard repertory from the Baroque, Classical, Romantic, or Modern Era. *Please, note: a Sonata/Sonatina movement or a part of another cyclic form (Suite, Prelude & Fugue, Concerto, etc.) is considered as one music selection. All but ensemble pieces of two performers or more must be performed from memory.
Solo instrumental and ensemble performances (e.g. one piano four-hands, violin and piano duet, chamber groups, etc.) are welcome. *Please note: only one piano in all concert halls is available. Selections are usually five minutes or less in performing time. Longer selections require additional fees. See the explanation of Fees here.
Multiple entries from the same participant or ensemble are also accepted.
Golden Key Music Festival encourages teachers to support their students by joining them in the Festival’s ensemble performances (duets, trios, etc.).
Video-performance Requirements
We suggest you to upload the pre-recorded performance on Youtube or similar public site and send us the clickable link. We do not require professionally made recording. The home video made by iPhone or simple video camera will provide to us acceptable level of quality.
The 2025 Festival is open to instrumentalists (solo and ensembles) and vocalists ages 5 and older.
Registration:
You are welcome to apply before February 1, 2025 for the online audition by following link: APPLY
*Our new system allows you to complete your entire registration process, including payment, directly on our website! No need for separate prepayments—everything is now conveniently handled in one place. To assist you with the registration, we’ve attached a step-by-step PDF guide to this email. Please refer to it if you encounter any difficulties. here
*Please, before the registration read our program’s requirements here
There are two fees:
Application Fee (During online registration, directly on our website by February 1st, 2025)
Recital Fee (After receiving the results)
The application fee is only accepted via PayPal. You will be asked to pay directly on our website after filling in the application form. If you do not have PayPal in your country, please contact us via email gk.musicfest@gmail.com
All fees are non-refundable.
Application Fee
The standard Application Fee is $85(incl. PayPal fee) for a single selection of no more than 5 minutes in performing time. Longer and additional selections are charged as listed below. A selection of more than 10 minutes requires double fee ($170 incl. PayPal fee). We do not accept selections longer than 15 minutes.
Recital Fee
Here are the fees for the live recitals at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and Virtual Recital. The fee covers the stage time, awards, guests tickets, design and printing, and other the recital related costs, including professionally made archival pictures of the performer (not guaranteed).
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Live Recital Registration Requirements
*(Registration for the Live recital is possible only after receiving the audition result from us (usually not later than March 1.)
In order to register for the live recital, please send an e-mail to goldenkeyfest@gmail.com with the following information:
1. The Winner’s file number (you will receive it)
2. The Winner’s first and last name
3. Proof of the Live Recital(s) Fee Payment
4. Full name of the remitter
After you have emailed us all the required information, you should receive a confirmation from us within 72 hours.
Virtual Recital Registration Requirements
*(Registration for the Virtual recital is possible only after receiving the audition result from us (usually not later than March 1.) by March 25th
In order to register for the Virtual recital, please send an e-mail to goldenkeyfest@gmail.com with the following information:
1. The Winner’s file number (you will receive it)
2. The Winner’s first and last name
3. Proof of the Virtual Recital(s) Fee Payment
4. Full name of the remitter
5. Short (up to 50 words) presentation of the Winner Optional
6. The Winner’s picture Optional
After you have emailed us all the required information, you should receive a confirmation from us within 72 hours.
For the virtual recital,you are welcome to submit updated video recording of your performance, if you wish. Video recommended resolution and aspect ratio: 16:9 and HD 1920 x 1080. If you decided to send updated video, please, use the following Services:
https://www.youtube.com/
https://wetransfer.com/
https://www.google.com/drive/
And for our participants from China:
AWS
https://www.getfilecloud.com/
Please, send the video to gk.musicfest@gmail.com before April 1, 2025
Result of the audition process will be e-mailed to the application submitter before or on March 1,
2025.
We reserve the right to cancel your application without refund if you:
- didn’t provide proof of payment or/and the name of the remitter;
- didn’t provide us with the correct video link or video link with open access to the video;
- didn’t pay for overtime;
- provided us incomplete application (without video, music score, etc.)
- didn’t answer our request to open the video access, provide proof of payment/remitter information/additional payment for overtime or fee for your entry by 15 February.
We reserve the right to adjudicate only one (first submitted) application, if you paid for only one application but submitted two or more.
The Gold and Silver level Winners will be invited to perform in the Golden Key Festival Recitals at Carnegie Hall or Bruno Walter Auditorium at Lincoln Center, New York, and receive their Diplomas, Medals, and Trophies (if eligible).
The Super Bronze and Bronze level Winners are welcome to perform and receive their Diplomas, Medals, and Trophies at the Lincoln Center, New York.
Participants in the Festival for 3, 5, 7, 8, or 9 consecutive years will also receive a corresponding festival trophy and recognition on this website (See Hall of Fame) Participants in the Festival for 10 and more consecutive years will be eligible for cash prizes.
Participants in the Festival for 7 or more consecutive years, regardless of their Award level, will be invited to perform at Carnegie Hall.
Teachers of the participating in the Winner Recital’s students will receive a Certificate of Excellence so long as they are the submitters of the applications for their students.
NOTE: In order to receive the Awards, Winners must have registered for the recital and paid the appropriate recital fee. If the registered Winner could not perform in the live recital, we can offer him participation in the virtual recital for no extra fee, if you will notify us about your concern no later than the deadline for the virtual recital.
All participants in the Virtual Recitals will receive their diplomas by mail. Medals and trophies will not be mailed.
Below are the dates for the Winners’ Recitals in the new GK-2025 season.
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You are welcome to find the Live Winners’ Recitals Schedule-2025 soon here
The Golden Key Festival at Carnegie Hall general procedure and requirements: SEE HERE
The Golden Key Festival at Lincoln Center general procedure and requirements: SEE HERE
The Golden Key Festival Virtual Recital general procedure and requirements: SEE HERE
The performance of any piece different from the one presented at the audition is strictly prohibited during the concert. If a participant performs a piece other than the one originally submitted for the audition, we reserve the right to withhold the award of participation. Additionally, if the performance duration differs from that of the audition, an additional fee may be charged.
George Borisov (USA)
George Borisov (USA)
George Borisov received his professional training in Piano Performance and Chamber Ensembles from the Rachmaninoff State Conservatory in Rostov City (B.A., M.A.) and the Glinka State Conservatory in Novosibirsk (D.M.A.) in the former Soviet Union/Russia, and has performed in solo and ensemble concerts throughout the former Soviet Union and the United States, as well as in Austria, France, Poland, Romania, Norway, and Indonesia. George has served regularly as an adjudicator for auditions at the NJMTA, MEA, SMEA, National Guild of Piano Teachers (USA), the Chopin International Piano Competition (Hartford, CT, USA), the Rosario Marciano Piano Competition (Vienna, Austria), Rome International Piano Competition (Rome, Italy), the Alberti International Piano Competition (Jakarta, Indonesia, Shanghai, China), the West Australian Pianist Competition (Perth, Australia), and others. He is the founder of the Golden Key International Music Festival in New York, Vienna, Barcelona, and Paris. George Borisov also received a Doctorate in Musicology (Ph.D.) from the All-Russian Institute of Musicology (Moscow, Russia) with a dissertation on the history of musical societies in southern Russia. He has published a variety of articles on musicological subjects in professional journals both in the United States and Russia. Dr. Borisov is author of the books From the Past of Kuban’s Culture (Krasnodar, Russia, 1989); Domenico Alberti and His Sonatas (New York, NY, USA 2007); From the Cradle of Classical Music (Freehold, NJ, USA 2013) For more than eight years he was the host and producer of the Russian television program “Lost Pages of our Culture,” which was devoted to the reanimation of the both the spiritual events and the names of the abandoned artists of pre-revolutionary Russia. Recently, his scientific interests are focused on researching the legacy of prominent Russian-American composers. He published a few articles on this topic and music album Vladimir Drozdoff, Selected Piano Miniatures (Sydney, Australia, 2018). He has been presenting the lecture-concerts on National European Television and at American Universities including Yale University, City University of New York, University of New Haven, and abroad at Ovidius University, Constanza, Romania; Tongji University, Shanghai, CHINA and others. Dr. Borisov holds an honorary professorial chair at Krasnodar State Institute of Culture, Krasnodar, Russia.
Stephan Möller (Austria/Germany)
Stephan Möller (Austria/Germany)
Stephan Möller first gained prominence as a prizewinner at the 1985 International Beethoven Competition in Vienna. Since then his busy concert schedule has taken him to Japan, China, North and South America as well as all over Europe. Performing all the standard repertoire, Stephan Möller has concentrated especially on the interpretation of the Viennese Classics, in particular Beethoven’s 32 piano sonatas, as well as on Franz Liszt’s paraphrases of Wagner opera scenes and his transcriptions of Beethoven Symphonies. Among his CD recordings, there are such rarities as Beethoven’s “Grosse Fuge” and the complete piano works by Richard Wagner. Born in Hamburg, Germany, Stephan Möller studied piano and conducting at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria. From 1983 to 1989 he assisted Herbert von Karajan and other world-renowned conductors at the Salzburg Festival. In 1990, he took up an appointment at the University for Music and Performing Arts Vienna. He is president of the Vienna International Pianists Association and their festival, the “VIP Academy.”
Liubov Kalmykova, (Austria/Norway)
Liubov Kalmykova, (Austria/Norway)
Liuba Kalmykova was born in Saint-Petersburg, Russia. At the age of 12 she moved to Norway, where she entered the prestigious Barratt-Due Music Institute in Oslo to study with Professor Isaac Schuldman. From the year 2011 she continued her solo violin studies with Prof. Pavel Vernikov at the Music and Arts University of Vienna and later on a chamber music degree with Prof. Johannes Meissl at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, and graduated with honors.
Liubov is a prize-winner of several national Norwegian as well as international competitions. She performed as a soloist with orchestras in Norway, Austria and Russia and took part in festivals like Sion Festival (Switzerland), Festspillene in Bergen (Norway), Kronberg Festival, Wien Modern (Austria), Festspillene Helgeland.
As a soloist and a chamber musician she played at prestigious venues such as Wiener Konzerthaus, Wiener Musikverein, ORF Radio Kulturhaus (Austria), Small Hall of Saint-Petersburg Conservatory (Russia). She attended master classes of among others Miriam Fried, Pavel Vernikov, Pierre Amoyal, Hatto Beyerle, Diotima Quartet.
As a founding member of the Selini Quartet (2015-2022) and later on the Ineo Quartet, Liubov is an active chamber musician. The Selini Quartet is a prize-winner of several international competitions, such as “Prague Spring International Music Competition” 2021 (Czech Republic), “Ysaye International Music Competition” 2021 (Belgium), “mdw great talent award” 2021 (Austria), “Szymanowski International Music Competition” 2018 (Poland) as well as of the “Artis Quartet Prize” of ISA Competition (Austria) 2018 and appeared in concerts across Europe and USA.
As an orchestra musician Liuba collected her experience in Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester, Wiener Symphoniker, Tonkünstler Orchester Niederösterreich, aswell as leading positions in many youth orchestras.
Liuba plays a Storioni violin kindly on loan from the Goh Family Foundation.
https://www.seliniquartet.com/ljubakalmykova
Chao Tang (China)
Chao Tang (China)
Pianist Chao Tang received his early professional training in Shanghai. He came to the United States to complete a Master of Music degree with distinction and Clark Scholarship at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey, studying with Dr. James Goldsworthy. By recommendation of the Dean of Westminster Choir College he also studied at Princeton University. After leaving New Jersey, Mr.Tang completed his Artist Diploma at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, studying with Professor Emile Naoumoff, former student of the legendary teacher Nadia Boulanger. Tang won a number of competitions both in China and the United States, including first prize at the 2011 Changjiang Competition in Shanghai, Princeton Festival Piano Competition in 2013, and the 2014 Bradshaw and Buono International Piano Competition. Since 2015, Tang becomes piano faculty at Tongji University Arts and Media College, and Shanghai Conservatory of Music Adult Education Department. He continues his work on translating the legendary pianist Alfred Cortot editions of the music of Frédéric Chopin into Chinese, published by Shanghai Education Publishing House.
Anna Leyerer (Austria)
Anna Leyerer (Austria)
Anna Leyerer-Pavlova is a concert pianist living in Vienna, Austria. She pursued and completed her graduate degree at the Saratov State Conservatory L. V. Sobinov under Prof. L. I. Shugom. After a short stint as lecturer at the Saratov State Conservatory she moved to Austria to continue her piano performance studies with Prof. Oleg Marshev at the Anton Bruckner University where she graduated with distinction in 2016. Anna also holds a Master of Arts degree in Pedagogy from the Anton Bruckner University in Linz, which she finished under the tutelage of Prof. Michael Korstick in 2019. Her artistic formation was also influenced greatly in masterclasses foremost by Prof. Michael Korstick and Albert Mamriev as well as such renowned musicians as A. Greene, Ch. Hinterhuber, E. Kupie, W. Nabore, N. Petrow, S. Pochekin, N. Trull and M. Voskresensky.
https://www.annaleyerer.com
Aida Kalcher (Austria)
Aida Kalcher (Austria)
Pianist, organist, and piano teacher, Aida Kalcher is a laureate of international piano competitions in Austria, Italy, Kazakhstan, Russia, and the United States. She serves as the Artistic Director of the Golden Key Music Festival in both the USA and Austria. Born in Kazakhstan, Aida began her early professional development there before moving to Austria to further her studies at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (mdw). She completed a Bachelor of Arts in Music Education for Voice and Instruments (Piano) and both a Bachelor and Master of Arts in Piano Performance. At mdw, she was mentored by Prof. Stephan Möller (piano), Mag. Ines Schüttengruber (organ), and Prof. Konstantin Semilakovs (piano pedagogy). Aida has performed on prestigious international stages, including the Wiener Konzerthaus (Austria), Carnegie Hall (USA), the Concert Hall of the Moscow Conservatory (Russia), and the Astana Opera House (Kazakhstan). Her artistic development has been greatly influenced by renowned musicians such as Michail Woskresensky (Russia), Gabriele Kupfernagel (Germany), Aquiles Delle Vigne (Argentina), Zhania Aubakirova (Kazakhstan), Amir Tebinikhin (Germany), and Elena Lapizkaja (Germany).
In addition to her active concert career, Aida is a dedicated piano teacher. She runs a piano studio in Vienna, where she helps young musicians in their development. Her students regularly win prizes in international competitions in Austria and the United States.
Vyacheslav Gryaznov (USA)
Vyacheslav Gryaznov (USA)
Vyacheslav Gryznov graduated with honors from the Central Music School of the Moscow State Conservatory where he studied with Professor Manana Kandelaki and the Moscow Conservatory (class of Professor Yuri Slesarev). He continued at the Moscow Conservatory as a post-graduate student, and recently is on the teaching faculty of the Moscow Conservatory’s Piano Department.
Since 2012 Vyacheslav has been conducting master classes as a visiting professor of piano at Kurashiki Sakuyo University(Japan) and at International music festivals in France, Italy and Austria. In 2016 he accepted Yale University’s invitation to fulfill the Artist Diploma program under tutelage the Yale School of Music’s Professor Boris Berman. Mr.Gryaznov is a member of the Moscow Philharmonic Society (Russia) and an Artist-in-Residence with The Drozdoff Society (the United States).
Gryaznov’s 2016-2017 performances include the Berliner Philharmonie and Carnegie Hall as winner of the 2016 New York Concert Artists Debut Audition; San Jose, California; four performances with the Atlantic Classical Orchestra; multiple engagements for The Drozdoff Society’s Impromptu! Classical Music Recital series in New York City as well as engagements in Russia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Austria, and France. He will also record a CD on the Steinway & Sons label.
Vyacheslav Gryaznov is the author of more than 30 concert arrangements and transcriptions. His works have been performed by Boris Berezovsky, Alexander Ghindin, Nikita Mndoyants, Tomoharu Ushida, the Messiaen-Quartet, the Moscow State Chamber Choir, the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra, and by many other musicians and collectives. They are heard in concert halls all over the world, and are chosen for prestigious international music contests like the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow.