The Romanian Music Centre and the pianist Florin Mitrea, with the help of ARCEN, are happy to announce the start of the registration period for the second edition of the Hoinar project, for young pianists. The Hoinar programme first started in 2016, when students from various music high schools from Bucharest, Iasi and Focsani took part in the competition, with its master courses, workshops, and the final concert. The success of the 2016 edition encourages us to go on in 2017, with more activities meant to prepare the Romanian pianists for performances of an international level.

The pianist Florian Mitrea is a double laureate at the International Competitions from Glasgow 2017, Hamamatsu 2015, and ARD München 2014. Currently, he lives in London, where he is a professor at the Royal Academy of Music. By developing the concept of Hoinar, Florian wishes to share his professional expertise with the developing young pianists.

And, in 2017, the Hoinar programme is addressed to young pianists and touches on the need for extracurricular practice for attending international competitions in this domain and for the entrance exams at renowned conservatories from abroad. The programme will bring back the piano master courses and the workshops, under the guidance of Florian Mitrea. They will take place in a friendly, but at the same time professional workplace, which will be focused on the participants' needs.

The 2017 edition also proposes a National Piano Competition, open for all Romanian pianists within 14 and 22 years of age. The competition is organised in a format similar to the one of the competitions that are part of the World Federation of International Music Competitions - with 4 stages.

For the competition, the Hoinar festival has invited an international jury which comprises only pianists with experience in international competition.

The members of the jury are:

· Hin-Yat Tsang - Hong Kong Young Musician of the Year in 2010 and laureate in Salt Lake City, Tokyo and Manchester

· Mihai Ritivoiu - Romanian pianist, laureate of the George Enescu International Competition and the winner of the Lipatti Days Competition

· Scipione Sangiovanni - Italian pianist who has held concerts and recitals at Carnegie Hall (New York) and the Scala Theatre from Milano, laureat of Jaen, Barcelona and Valencia

· Florian Mitrea

The participants will be selected based on their CV and one video recording. Irrespective of the result, all contestants will get the chance to talk to the members of the jury and get constructive feedback. What sets this jury apart from the others is that all the members are themselves contestants in big international competitions. They know all too well the intense preparation for such an event, the psychological pressure, the nerves and the stress that participants feel, and they can give useful advice.

All the activities at the festival will take place at the Romanian Music Centre, on Henri Coanda Street, no. 5, sector 1, Bucharest.

More details, both about the courses and about the competition (repertoire requirements and other necessary documents) are available on the Facebook page www.facebook.com/hoinar.music or by email at hoinar.music@gmail.com.

Registrations for the Hoinar programme are made online. The application deadline for the competition is the 27^th of November. The application deadline for the rest of the programme is the 4^th of December. The registration form can be downloaded from the Facebook page or it can be sent, on request, by email.