Sonata-Sonatina Festival
The annual NSMTA Sonata-Sonatina Festival (SSF) provides students with an opportunity to perform and be evaluated by a panel of professional adjudicators. All participants receive a blue ribbon, and those earning a score between 90 and 100 are awarded a gold, silver, or bronze medal. Gold medalists are invited to perform in the Gold Medal Winners Recital, held the weekend following the festival.
SSF Co-Coordinators:Jennifer Merry and Shihui Yin, ssf@nsmta.org
SSF Committee: Yeeseon Kwon, Jennifer Cohen and Grace Juang
2027 Sonata-Sonatina Festival
FESTIVAL DETAILS
Sunday, February 21, 2027
Music Institute of Chicago, Winnetka
300 Green Bay Road, Winnetka, IL 60093
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Fee: $45 per entrant
Maximum 10 entries per teacher
Fees non-refundable
REGISTRATION
Opens: Monday, December 21, 2026
Closes: Monday, January 18, 2027
GOLD MEDAL RECITAL
Sunday, February 28, 2027
Lutkin Hall, Northwestern University
Repertoire Requirements
Each performer must play either two contrasting movements of a Sonatina (including the 2nd movement) or one movement - first or last - of a Sonata.
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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
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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) - 1st movement only
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 28, 2027
Times: 1:00, 2:30, 4:00 and 5:30 PM
Location: Lutkin Hall, Northwestern University
Map: 700 University Pl, Evanston, IL 60208
Parking available in Lot 232-711 Elgin Lot (free without permit on weekends)
Walk northeast to Lutkin Hall
Festival Rules and Requirements
SSF Eligibility Rules
Your NSMTA dues must be paid by October 31, 2026 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 the Chicago North Shore area and be available to participate on the day of the festival.
SSF Registration & Fee
Teachers are responsible for registering their students. All registrations must be submitted online through the NSMTA Member Portal. There are no exceptions to the deadline.
A maximum of ten (10) students per teacher may be entered.
Fee: $45.00 per entrant (non-refundable)
Non-member Participation
Teachers who are not members of NSMTA may enter students in SSF. A one-time $25 annual non-member fee per teacher will be automatically applied to the student registration fees in the Member Portal.
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.
Teachers will be assigned jobs of at least 2 hours on Festival Day. Please indicate your AM or PM availability to help when you register.
Proxies may be allowed in some circumstances. Teachers will be fully responsible to make sure their job is done responsibly. Any teacher in violation of the help requirements 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 score or medal.
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. The form is available here and will also be provided in hard copy on the day of the festival.
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.
Parking at MIC
Parking is available in the lot in front of the building (lower level) or behind the building.
How to Register
Sonata-Sonatina Festival registration is completed by the student’s teacher through the NSMTA Member Portal. Registration is open December 21, 2026–January 18, 2027.
NSMTA Members
The registration fee is $45 per student.
Click Go to Member Portal below to log in.
Select Events → 2027 Sonata-Sonatina Festival
Provide volunteer availability
Register student(s)
Complete payment through the Payment Cart
Portal accounts are provided to teachers only, not parents.
Not an NSMTA Member?
Non-member piano teachers are welcome to participate in the Sonata-Sonatina Festival. The registration fee is $45 per student, plus a one-time $25 non-member fee per teacher.
Returning non-members with portal accounts can simply log in.
First-time non-member teachers must request portal access before registering.
Questions about SSF?
For further information, fill out the form to contact SSF Co-Chairs, Jennifer Merry and Shihui Yin.