The First Chopin Competition for Adult Amateur Pianists
	The First Chopin Competition for Adult Amateur Pianists was held last week. No gold medal was awarded. John Slaby received the Silver medal, Marina Tishkova the bronze and Jun Xu and Rodrigo Herrara each received honorable mentions. All contestants were required to play all-Chopin music with one required piece and be over the age of 27. The competition was held at Cullen Hall, St. Thomas University on Saturday, October 22, 2004. Contestants are required to be non-professional musicians and not to hold any music degrees in piano performance or pedagogy. It was judged by two respected pianists: Dr. Clive Swansbourne from Great Britain and Calogero DiLiberto from Italy. The top prizewinner, John Slaby, 43, plays piano as an amateur and studies with teacher Anna Golka who was honored with the Teacher of the Year Award by the Houston Music Teachers Association in 2003. Slaby studied piano as a child for three years and played on his own prior to taking lessons with Ms. Golka, with whom he has studied for two years. As an engineer, he holds a PhD in chemical engineering and also works as a part-time artist with oil paintings.                             Chopin Society of Houston was founded in 2000 and organizes competitions and master classes for young pianists from kindergarten through grade 12 every year. This was the Society’s first event for adults and will be held bi-annually.