Piano Festival 2025 Yamaha Disklavier Highlight

Saturday, April 11th, 2026

Announcing Piano Festival 2026 Live! 

Please mark your calendars. Saturday April 11th, 2026 marks Jordan Kitt’s Music School’s 2026 Live Piano Festival.  We have some special surprises this year and are very honored to announce festival adjudicator Yuri Chayama, who has been described in the German press as “a virtuoso” and “master pianist.”

Dr. Chayama has performed in the United States, Germany, Italy, and Japan. She holds Master’s Degrees from the Musikhochschule in Aachen, Germany and the University of New Mexico; her DMA is from the University of Arizona. She won the Competition Internationalé in Santa Fe and a major prize from the Ibla Music Competition in Italy. Renowned composer Dr. Kurt Schwaen awarded her the prize for Best Interpretation of his composition Nocturne Lugubre in Berlin in 2004.

Dr. Chayama’s recordings of Chopin, Liszt, Debussy, and Takemitsu have been heard on classical radio stations in the United States and Japan. She enjoys accompanying and teaching piano and has worked with students of varying abilities from beginners to advanced levels. She currently resides in Washington, DC and currently serves as President of the Montgomery County Music Teachers Association in Maryland.

Jordan Kitt’s is excited to introduce new technology into this year’s event by incorporating Yamaha’s flagship Disklavier, allowing us to stream live performances from all of our locations so that more participants will be able to join the Festival both near and far.  

We encourage all students to perform live (in-person) at the festival presented at our Rockville store location. 

In order to accommodate JKM participants from distant locations, we will implement Yamaha’s Disklavier piano for applicants to perform live from their home store location. Following registration, students will receive instructions on how this system will work.

• All participants will receive awards and helpful comments and feedback from adjudicators.

• Finalists are those who place “5” or “5+” from each Division.  

• Saturday, April 18th, we will have an Honors Recital for finalists to share their in-person live performances in our Rockville location Recital Room. 

 • Finalists who aren’t local (more than 40 miles from Jordan Kitt’s Music Rockville location) may choose to perform live using the Yamaha Disklavier Piano.

Registration deadline is Tuesday, March 16th, 2026.

There will be a $35 registration fee. 

Register here to enter today!

Festival Entry Form
Student's Name
Student's Name
First
Last
Teacher's Name
Teacher's Name
First Name
Last Name
Parent/Guardian Name
Parent/Guardian Name
First Name
Last Name
Do you authorize Jordan Kitt's Music School to charge the $35 registration fee to your account on file?

Pre-Requisites

• Each student entering the festival must be enrolled in piano lessons at Jordan Kitt’s Music.

• Only solo piano performances will be allowed.

• All music must be memorized.

Divisions and Repertoire Requirements:

All participants will perform two pieces according to the following guidelines:

Div. 1: Grades K-1 (up to 2 minutes of music in contrasting styles)*

Div. 2: Grades 2-3 (up to 4 minutes of music in contrasting styles)

Div. 3: Grades 4-5 (up to 6 minutes of music in contrasting styles)

Div. 4: Grades 6-8 (up to 8 minutes of music in contrasting styles and time periods)

(Grade 6 and above participants must choose original piano works, no arrangements.)

Div. 5: Grades 9-12 (up to 10 minutes of music in contrasting styles and time periods)

The Jordan Kitt’s Music Piano Festival reserves the right to combine divisions due to low participation.

Any violation of the repertoire requirements will result in disqualification.

*Division 1 students must play music that uses both hands, though not necessarily at the same time. All other levels are expected to use both hands.

Policies:

• Repertoire selections may not be changed after the registration deadline.

• If you are performing a multi-movement piece such as a sonata or suite, please specify which movement(s) you plan to perform on your registration form.

• Time limits will be enforced to ensure that the festival runs according to schedule. The judge will hear enough of the music to give a fair evaluation.

• You will be notified of your online Division time no less than one week prior to the festival.

• Judge’s comments will be sent to teachers shortly after the festival.

• The judge’s decision is final.