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2016
MFA
Young Artist
Competition

1st Annual Montana Flute Association Young Artist Compeition sponsored through the Flute Pro Shop in memory of the legendary Murray Panitz

2016 MFA YAC Online Application
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Through the generous support of the Flute Pro Shop, we are able to able to have this year's Young Artist Competition!  Click on their logo to check out their website for more information on flutes, sheet music, and more!
Prizes
The winners will be announced following the competition. The winner will receive $300. Second and third place winners will receive $200 and $100, respectively. Prize winners may also have an opportunity to perform one of their pieces at the evening Festival Concert.

Repertoire
1. Please choose ONE of the following:
  • Georges Enesco: Cantabile et Presto (Edition: G. Schirmer, Flute Music by French Composers)
  • Gabriel Faure: Fantasie (Edition: G. Schirmer, Flute Music by French Composers)
2. Unaccompanied piece of applicant’s choosing, with a maximum duration of 8 minutes (no cuts allowed). Adjudicators may stop a performance in order to keep the competition running on schedule.

Procedures and Deadlines
  • To register, please click the link at the bottom of this page and fill out the form to submit your information. Registration for this event closes on Friday, March 18, 2016 by 5pm. No late applications will be accepted.
  • The competition will take place during the 2016 Montana Flute Festival on Saturday, April 9, in the UM Music Recital Hall at University of Montana in Missoula. You will receive an email from the Competition Coordinator by Friday,March 25 with your performance time.
  • All applicants must be current members of the Montana Flute Association and between the age of 16‐25 at the time of the competition.
  • There is a non‐refundable application fee of $25, to be paid at the time you register for the competition.
  • All competitors must submit a brief statement (3-5 sentences) stating how their prize money will be applied to their continuing flute educations should they win.
  • All performances are open to the public.
  • All judges’ decisions are final, and not all prizes need be awarded.
  • You may choose to bring your own pianist or hire a pianist in Missoula. The MFA’s official competition pianists are Dorothy Peterson (email) and Tyler Menzel. The fee for a 30‐minute rehearsal and for your competition performance is $50, paid directly to the pianist. Rehearsals will be scheduled for the afternoon/evening of April 8, the day before the competition, as well as select appointments the morning of April 9, the day of the competition. Payment should be made at the rehearsal before your competition performance, at the latest. If you do not, the pianist is free to choose to not perform with you.
  • If you plan on performing with the competition pianist, arrangements must be made with the pianist directly before March 15. You will be given your specific rehearsal time no later than March 15.
  • Each competitor must have three copies of their unaccompanied pieces for the competition adjudicators. This is an absolute requirement for this competition. Our adjudicating panel has a right to disqualify you should you not provide scores. Plan ahead, and make your copies before the day of the competition.
  • You must have an original score with you for the performance. You may keep the original with you or perform with it – it is your choice. Copyright laws state that you must have an original copy of the work present when you perform Information

For more information, or if you have any questions, please contact:
Tyler Menzel
Competition Coordinator
montanafluteassociation@gmail.com
Murray Panitz
Born in New York City, Mr. Panitz began studying the flute at 12, a relatively late start. He graduated from New York's High School of Music and Art at 15, but had to enroll for an extra year because although the Eastman School had accepted him it had a rule against students younger than 16.

In high school he met Myrna Rubenstein, a pianist who later entered the Eastman School with him. Mr. Panitz studied four years with Joseph Mariano, and Rubenstein accompanied Mariano's students. They were married in September 1945.

Mr. Panitz earned a master's degree at the Manhattan School and joined the National Symphony briefly before being drafted. He played in the Army Air Corps Band in Washington.

He joked with friends that he and the band director clashed from the beginning. Mr. Panitz said the conductor told him he "wouldn't have him play first flute in his band even if he were first in the Philadelphia Orchestra."

After his military service, Mr. Panitz returned to New York, where he established himself as a free-lance flutist and was much in demand. He performed with the Bell Telephone Orchestra and was principal flutist with the New York City Ballet, the Symphony of the Air and the Little Orchestra Society of New York.

When he joined the Philadelphia Orchestra, he followed the legendary flutist William Kincaid, but his artistry was so immediately apparent that he suffered none of the damaging comparisons that often follow such a highly visible change.

He became a favorite among his colleagues, noted for his softly spoken quips that eased tensions in rehearsals, as well as for his high standards.

Principal bassoonist Bernard Garfield, who went to high school with Mr. Panitz and who drove him to the hospital on Monday, said that "Murray was always a compassionate listener, honest and trustworthy. In the orchestra, he was so aware of intonation that he could modify his playing to correct a pitch problem even before (others realized) there was a problem.

"His technique was remarkable, and his ability to read new music always made it seem as if he had known the music already," Garfield said.

Mr. Panitz appeared as soloist with the orchestra on many occasions. Eugene Ormandy, the late conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra, featured him on tours by playing Kent Kennan's Night Soliloquy as an encore, a piece for flute and orchestra.

He last appeared as soloist with the orchestra at the Mann Music Center in July, playing a Cimarosa Concerto for Two Flutes with James Galway.

He also had been a member of the Philadelphia Woodwind Quintet, again succeeding Kincaid in the ensemble. Anthony Gigliotti, a founder of the quintet and the orchestra's principal clarinetist, said, "What an asset he was to the group! He had a prodigious technique, beautiful sound and perfect ear."

Gigliotti praised the flutist's open mind. He recalled that Mr. Panitz had never liked gold flutes until, when the orchestra was playing in Ann Arbor, Mich., he heard one that was outstanding. "He bought it and switched immediately," Gigliotti recalled. "He had played that instrument ever since."

Mr. Panitz had taught at Curtis Institute and more recently at Temple University. Since 1974, he had sat in the orchestra beside flutist Loren Lind, who had studied with him for four years. "He was demanding, but in a very positive way. He made you want to know everything," Lind said.

by Daniel Webster, Philadephia Inquirer
April 15, 1989