Mildred Milligan Scholarship Competition 2021

2021 Competition Results:

Division I (Grades 1-3)
1st: Grace Wu
2nd: Kate Ho
3rd: Wally Snow
Honorable Mentions: Emily Wright, Brettley Rivera
Division II (Grades 4-5)
1st: Olivia Lowe
2nd: Zara Subramanian
3rd: Caroline Bombach
Honorable Mention: Emilse Driver
 
Division III (Grades 6-7)
1st: Seun Ayadi
2nd: Martina Balestrini
3rd: Vivian Connelly
Honorable Mention: Sydney Griffin
 
Division IV (Grades 8-9)
1st: Amrita Sankrit
2nd: Zoë Winn
3rd: Miranda Rinaldi
Honorable Mentions: Elizabeth Howard, Sophie Do, Jasmine Hoang, Bethanie Ann King
 
Division V (Grades 10-12)
1st: Evelyn Chien
2nd: Sonya Weeks
3rd: Ynhu Nguyen
Honorable Mentions: Tate Ahmann, Luis Gabriel de la Cruz, Mia Butler, Orson Lybbert
 
Division VI (College: up through age 24)
1st: Lily Primus
2nd: Zane Mallett
3rd: Kelsey Sham
Honorable Mention: Meghann Neale

 

The Greater Houston Chapter of the American Harp Society is pleased to announce the 2021 Mildred Milligan Scholarship Competition for members of the GHC.  The competition will take place virtually, with video submissions due April 25th, 2021. Registration for the 2021 competition is now closed.

The main goals of this competition are educational: encouraging student growth and development by challenging harpists to prepare for an adjudicated performance and building a sense of community for Houston area harpists.

All contestants, as well as their teachers, must be members of the Greater Houston Chapter of the American Harp Society.  Become a member here.

  • Students will submit video recordings of the required piece and their free choice piece.
  • The judges' decisions are final.
  • Winners in each category will perform for the Milligan Competition Winner's Recital (date TBD).
  • First Place Winners in all categories will receive a cash prize.  Second and Third place winners will be chosen for all categories and will receive a gift certificate to a harp retailer.
  • In addition to a cash prize, the First Place Winner of the Division VI (college level) will receive a recital performance opportunity as part of the GHC’s 2021/2022 season. Repertoire may include chamber music as well as solo.
  • To participate in the competition students must prepare from memory both a required piece, and a “free choice” piece.  Division VI prepares two free choice pieces. The time limit of the free choice piece varies by division. View this year's required repertoire here. Contestants will be judged by professional harpists.  

 

Judges will award scores in the following areas:

  • Accuracy of Notes/Rhythm
  • Dynamics/Phrasing
  • Memory
  • Tempo
  • Overall Artistic Performance

It is important for competitors to select a “free choice” piece that can be performed accurately, by memory, and with the correct dynamics, phrasing, and tempo.  Overall, judges will be looking for the most polished performances.

 

We hope that you and your students will take advantage of this exciting opportunity!  Registration is now closed. If you have any questions or would like to volunteer to help with this event, please contact Naomi Hoffmeyer, Milligan Committee Chairman via email at njhoffmeyer@gmail.com.