16 hours of flight fatigue turned into flamboyant excitement as the wheels of the plane thudded down onto the runway of Jakarta International Airport. It seemed almost surreal that after months of anticipation, I was finally here, at my first international competition - my first peek out of a window to the world.
The Indonesia Pusaka International Piano Competition is a youth piano competition, catering for young pianists up to the age of 28. There were 46 competitors chosen across the age groups, 15 of which would be competing in mine - the age group for 11-15 year olds. Upon meeting the contestants on arrival to our hotel, I could see that the competition was going to be fierce. It was interesting to see that all the competitors attended top music conservatories from around the world.
I was also feeling a little less eager to be compared...
The competition venue was daunting. Two long tables lined the front of the audience- each seat occupied by an adjudicator. I must say that having ten adjudicators from all over the world is not something that I am very used to. After my performance, I got a chance to speak with each of them. I felt it was incredibly beneficial that I was able to do this as they all gave me tips on how to improve my performance.
I’d like to thank Lewis Eady Charitable Trust for sponsoring me - without them, this trip would’ve been impossible. Given the opportunity, I’d enjoy returning to IPIPC again.
Post by Sylvia Jiang
