Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - The Rising Star International Arts Festival (RSIAF) 2020 – a musicfestival for children – has started this month in the form of an onlinecontest, according to the organisers.

The event, hosted by the MaySpace Music Academy, this time is focusing on apiano contest instead of other multiple events such as guitar, cello, violin,flute, western musical instruments, vocals and dance as in the original plan,according to a statement from the MaySpace on June 12.

The reduction of the scheduled performance competitions was announced aftermany delays due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The contest opened for registration early this month and candidates can applyat , with the deadline for submission to thepreliminary round being on July 31, while the deadline for submission to thefinal round is August 30. The preliminary results will be announced on August6.

Contestants will compete through sending videos of themselves playing piano forno longer than five minutes, as well as introducing their name and work.

They are advised to play a grand piano to get the best sound quality.Organisers do not allow videos of electric pianos.

The videos can be posted to YouTube or contestants’ personal social media pagesthen sending a link to the organising committee, according to the organiser.

In case the COVID-19 pandemic is completely controlled in Vietnam and there isan announcement on the end of the pandemic from the Government, the final roundof the competition will be held offline at the Vietnam National Academy ofMusic.

The judges of the RSIAF competition include famous domestic and internationalmusic teachers and artists from Poland, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Hong Kong(China) and Malaysia.

Each candidate will be assessed and commented on directly by two judges andtheir assessments will aim to not only reflect the quality of the test but alsohelp the candidate develop their strengths and overcome weaknesses so that theycan develop their talents more comprehensively in the future.

The competition is expected to give competitors an opportunity to interact withfamous artists and teachers in the role of the jury, while helping them todevelop their abilities and have the opportunities to compete at otherinternational contests.

In addition to awards from the organisers, the winners will represent Vietnamto attend two more international events of a competition and a festival takingplace at Carnegie Hall in Manhattan, New York and Sydney Opera House in Sydney,Australia.

The Rising Star International Arts Festival 2020 promises an opportunity foryoung talents to not only boost their music skills but also interact and learnfrom experts and judges from many countries around the world, the organisersaid on its website.

According to MaySpace, before the event was delayed due to the COVID-19pandemic, there were 125 Vietnamese and 43 international contestants registeredto join the competition by the end of March./.