Sonata-Sonatina Festival

The NSMTA Sonata-Sonatina Festival was created to give the students of NSMTA teachers the opportunity to perform their music before two judges. All entrants will receive a written critique and the opportunity to receive a bronze, silver or gold medal. Gold medalists will be invited to perform on a recital held the week following the festival.

SSF Co-Coordinators: Jennifer Merry and Shihui Yin, ssf@nsmta.org

SSF Committee: Yeeseon Kwon, Jennifer Cohen and Grace Juang

 2025 Sonata-Sonatina Festival

Date: Sunday, February 16, 2025

Location: Music Institute of Chicago Winnetka, 300 Green Bay Road, Winnetka 60093

Parking is available in the lot in front of the building (lower level) or behind the building. 

Online Registration Begins: Monday, December 16, 2024

Online Registration Closes: Monday, January 13, 2025

Gold Medal Recital: Sunday, February 23, 2025

SSF Festival Day Information

Important Reminders for all SSF Participants:

  • Each student should bring their original book for the judges, with measure numbers indicated at the beginning of each line.

    • Photocopied music or scores downloaded from IMSLP are not allowed. Students who bring these will not receive no scores and no medals.

    • For any students using legally downloaded computer-printed scores, an adult over the age of eighteen (18) will be required to sign a Music Release Form. To expedite the check-in process on festival day, download and fill out the form in advance and bring it with you on the day of the festival.

  • Please wear appropriate performance attire.  No jeans or sweatshirts.

  • Arrive 15 minutes before the playing time and check in at the table in the central lobby where students will be told where they will play. 

  • Parents should plan to wait in their cars, as this eliminates congestion in the MIC lobby.  For very young students who require assistance, parents may help them to check-in.

  • Only students, monitors and judges will be allowed in the hallway.

  • Students are encouraged to warm up at home, as there is no opportunity to warm up at the Music Institute.

  • Students should be mindful of health considerations and stay home if they are ill.

For Teachers: Scoresheets will be available for pick up between 5:30 and 6:30 PM in the MIC lobby on festival day. Remaining envelopes will be mailed after the festival.

If you have any questions, please contact one of the Festival Chairs (Jennifer Merry and Shihui Yin) at ssf@nsmta.org.

Repertoire Requirements

Each performer must play two contrasting movements of a Sonatina including a 2nd movement OR one movement (first or last) of a Sonata.

  • Entrants will play two movements from the same sonatina that must be contrasting in mood and tempo (i.e., movements 1 and 2 or 2 and 3.) Sonatinas must include a 2nd Movement. In the case of sonatinas with only two movements, the student shall play both movements. Entrants are not allowed to combine movements from two different Sonatinas.

    The following Sonatas will count as Sonatinas for this event due to shortness of length and complexity. Two contrasting movements are required.

    • Haydn Sonatas Hoboken XVI:7, 8 and 9

    • Camidge Sonata No. 6

    The following Sonatinas are NOT eligible since they only contain one movement:

    • Biehl Sonatina in C

    • Benda Sonatina in A minor

    • Duncombe Sonatina in C

    • Kabalevsky Sonatina in A minor, Op. 27, No. 18

    • Salutrinskaya Sonatina in D

  • Entrants will play either the first or last movement of a sonata chosen from the classical through modern periods.

    Exclusions:

    • Sonatas by Scarlatti and other bipartite sonatas.

    • Mozart’s K.331- 1st movement, as it is a set of variations.

    • Schubert Sonata in f# minor (D571, unfinished)

    The following compositions qualify as Sonatas due to the length of the pieces and complexity:

    • Beethoven Op. 49, No. 1 (Gm)

    • Beethoven Op. 49, No. 2 (G)

    • Clementi Op. 36 No. 6 (D)

    • Dussek, Op. 20 No. 6 (E-flat)

    • Kabalevsky Op. 13, No. 1 (C)

    • Kapustin Sonatina Op. 100

    • Khachaturian Sonatina in C

    • Kuhlau Op. 20, No.3 (F)

    • Kuhlau Op. 59, No.1, (A)

    • Kuhlau Op. 59, No.2 (F) 1st movement only

    • Kuhlau Op. 59, No.3, (C)

    • Kuhlau Op. 60, No.2 (A)

    • Kuhlau Op. 60, No.3 (C)

    • Ravel Sonatine

Awards and Gold Medal Recital

Each participant will receive an award ribbon for participating in the Festival. Medals are awarded for the following scores:

  • Gold 96-100

  • Silver 93-95

  • Bronze 90-92

  • No Medal 89 and below

Gold Medal Recital

Gold medal recipients will be invited to perform in one of the Gold Medal Recitals and listed in The SCORE newsletter.

Gold Medal Recital Chairs: Adam Chlastawa, Eric Sutz, Christina Tio, ssfgoldmedal@nsmta.org

Recital Date: Sunday, February 23, 2025

Times: 1:00, 2:30, 4:00 and 5:30 PM

Location: Trinity United Methodist Church, 1024 Lake Ave, Wilmette, IL 60091

  • Church parking lot is located right across the street on Wilmette Ave. 

  • Entrance to the church is also from Wilmette Ave.

Registration Procedure

For NSMTA Members:

  1. Verify and Register your Member Portal account.

  2. Log in to the Member Portal and create your public Find a Teacher profile with at minimum an instrument selected.

  3. Go to Account Settings and enter your mailing address and phone number.

  4. Add students to your Student Roster - enter the name and contact information for each student.

  5. On the day registration opens, the 2025 Sonata-Sonatina Festival will show up in your Active Events list. You can start registering students from the SSF event dashboard any time up to the registration deadline. Your registrations are not complete until you have checked out of your cart.

Detailed instructions and video tutorials on completing steps 1-4 are available on the Member Portal How-Tos page.

Instructions for non-Members:

Piano teachers who are not members of NSMTA are invited to enter students in the NSMTA Sonata-Sonatina Festival. To register students, fill out the form to request a Member Portal account. You will receive an email from admin@nsmta.org with instructions on how to get set up. Afterward, please follow the same steps outlined under For NSMTA Members.

Note: All SSF registrations must go through the teacher and not the parent. A $25 non-member fee will apply. See Festival Rules and Requirements section below for more information.

Festival Rules and Requirements

SSF Eligibility Rules

  • Your NSMTA dues must be paid by October 31, 2024 to be eligible. Members who joined or renewed after October 31st must pay an additional $25. This is a one-time fee per calendar year.

  • Teachers must reside in Illinois and must be able to participate on the day of the festival.

SSF Registration & Fee

  • Teachers are responsible for registering their students, and registrations are only accepted online via the NSMTA Member Portal. There are no exceptions to the deadline.

  • A maximum of ten (10) students per teacher may be entered.

  • Fee: $40.00 per entrant (non-refundable)

Non-member Participation

Participating teachers who are not members of NSMTA may enter students in SSF. Non-members must pay an additional $25 as a one-time non-member fee per calendar year. The $25 non-member fee will automatically be applied to the student registration fees.

Teacher Help Requirement

Running this festival requires a great deal of support from the participating teachers. All teachers are required to help with the festival in order for their students to participate in the Festival.

  • Teachers will be assigned jobs for no more than 1.5 hours on Festival Day. Please indicate your AM or PM availability to help when you register.

  • Only teachers are to complete their assigned job times. No substitutes (parents, students, relatives, etc.) are allowed to replace the teacher volunteer for the assigned job. Please plan for your availability and participation on the festival date, in order for your students to participate in the Festival.

  • Any teacher in violation of these volunteer guidelines will not be allowed to participate in the festival the following year.

Special Scheduling Requests

Students may request either AM or PM, but specific time requests cannot be honored. However, if there are siblings playing in the Festival, please indicate that in the registration form and they will be scheduled within the same hour. Be certain to double-check all of your information.

Music Scores

Each student should bring their original music book for the judges, with measure numbers marked at the beginning of every system. No photocopies are allowed. Students who bring in illegal copies/photocopies will receive no scores.

For any students using legally downloaded computer-printed scores, an adult over the age of eighteen (18) will be required to sign a Music Release Form which will be provided on Festival Day.

Memorization

All music must be memorized and performed without repeats. The judges will have the authority to stop an entrant before the end of a performance and their decisions will be final. Students who do not memorize the music or do not play two movements of a Sonatina will still be allowed to perform and receive written comments, but neither score nor medal will be awarded.

Score Sheets and Medal Pick-Up

After the conclusion of the SSF Festival, teachers will be able to pick-up score sheets and medals for their students from MIC Lobby. Pick-up times TBD.

Questions about SSF?

For further information, fill out the form to contact SSF Co-Chair, Jennifer Merry.