Piano
The Woodley Festival of Music and Arts provides a supportive space for performers of all ages and skill levels to share their talents—either solo or in groups—while receiving professional feedback across beginner, intermediate, and advanced classes.
News
To all the performers and their families, thank you for being part of our festival.
We hope that this experience has inspired you to continue pursuing your passion for the performing arts.
Our warmest wishes for future success and happiness in your performing endeavours.
Piano Timetable 2026
- Friday 13th (eve), Saturday 14th & Sunday 15th March
- Friday 20th (eve), Saturday 21st & Sunday 22nd March
(Dates may vary according to entry levels)
Entries 2026
Entries open on 7th November 2025 and close on 14th January 2026.
Venue
The Oakwood Centre, Headley Rd, Woodley, Berks, RG5 4JZ.
Guidance
Guidance for Music Performers & Parents
You can download the Piano syllabus 2026 here.
Section Chairman
Juliet Bruce, LRAM
Email: Piano@WoodleyFestival.org.uk
Assistant: Katie Kennedy
Please do follow us on our social media platforms – Facebook and Instagram for all updates
Piano Section Adjudicator 2026
Dr Diane Baxter
Diane Baxter, pianist, consultant, and editor, is Professor Emerita of Music at Western Oregon University where she received the Faculty Honors Award for Outstanding Creativity and the Pastega Award for Excellence in Teaching. Diane taught studio piano and courses in Ethnomusicology, Performance Anxiety, and Graduate Research Methods. She has performed as a soloist, a chamber musician, and an orchestral pianist in the United States, Canada, Japan and France. Her training is from a long heritage of Hungarian piano teachers, including Bela Boszormenyi-Nagy and Gyorgy Sebok. Diane has worked recently with Paul Roberts, Stefan Bojsten, Martin Sturfalt, Charles Owen, and Alon Goldstein. She has appeared as soloist with the Cascade Festival of Music Orchestra, the Western Oregon Symphony, the Newport Symphony Orchestra, and the Oregon Mozart Players.
Diane consults far and wide, often giving workshops on doing our best under pressure. “The Science of Artistry: The Fourth String” was published in Clavier Companion in Nov/Dec 2013. Diane’s article, “Ethnomusicology and Alchemy” was published in the April/May 2020 edition of American Music Teacher. The Aug/Sept 2023 edition includes a published book review of A Little History of Music by Robert Philip. She is currently writing another book review for Oxford University Press.
Diane performs and teaches in France each summer, and in 2018 she began international annual workshops on the shores of Loch Etive in the Scottish Highlands. The focus is on performance success and doing our best when it matters most. The workshop is thriving.
In 2023 after the workshops concluded, Dr. Baxter was invited to speak for The Music Faculty at the University of Oxford on the topic “Pianist as Athlete”.
Dr. Baxter has adjudicated the Woodley Festival on several occasions, most recently in 2022. She is happy to be here working with the performers and teachers again. In Oregon Diane writes the program notes for Corvallis Piano International and performs as principal keyboardist for the Newport Symphony. She lives, writes, plays and thinks in Brownsville, Oregon, USA.
Conditions of Entry
Conditions of Entry Piano (See also general conditions of entry below)
- OWN CHOICE pieces must be stated on the entry form. Own choice pieces must be by published composers, not own compositions. Own compositions should be entered in classes I655 – I665 under the Instrumental Section.
- TIME LIMITS, where specified, must be strictly observed. The performance time of the piece should be included on the entry form. In any class, the adjudicator reserves the right to stop a performance, and may choose an appropriate penalty – e.g. marks may be deducted or 1st place may not be gained. This reflects not the quality of the performance but is purely in consideration of the time spent overall. Responsibility for timing rests with the performer and their teacher / coach.
- ACCOMPANIST (Instrumental & Vocal only, not Choral). There is an official accompanist available for booking, but you may well choose to make your own Independent arrangements. A charge will be made for the services of the Official Accompanist – these charges are stated on the entry form. A copy of the music must be sent to the Official Accompanist at the time of entry. Rehearsals, including payment for them, are a matter for private arrangements between the entrant and the Accompanist and these need to take place before the date of the performance.
- REPEAT PERFORMANCES. Entrants may take part in as many classes as they wish (providing they are eligible) but may not play the same piece twice, nor submit the same piece from the previous year.
- MUSIC COPYRIGHT. Entrants are reminded that it is against the law to photocopy copyright music without written permission from the copyright owner. Photocopies will only be accepted when an Own Choice work is selected from a publication containing several different works. In this case one copy may be made for the use of the adjudicator, provided the competitor has already purchased his / her own copy. This photocopy will be destroyed immediately after the event.
General Conditions of Entry (Please note special Conditions of Entry for each section above)
A COPY OF PIECES FOR THE USE OF THE ADJUDICATOR must be handed in prior to your performance, and be collected at the end of the class. Please make sure your name is on the copy.
LATE ENTRIES are not normally accepted. Where feasible, the Section Chair may possibly exercise discretion to accept a late entry shortly after the closing date. Time is of the essence, so make any such request by phone or email, not post. Fees for unaccepted late entries will be returned.
ENTRY FEES are not refundable. Receipts will be sent on request.
TIMES & DATES. Entrants must accept the times and dates allocated by us to any class. However, we will try to accommodate special requests in exceptional circumstances, if specified, with reasons, on the entry form.
THE ADJUDICATOR’S DECISION will be final. No contact may be made with the Adjudicators by entrants, parents, teachers or other interested parties, unless by the consent of a member of the Committee. Trophies & prizes will be awarded to competitors at the discretion of the adjudicator.
ELECTRONIC ACCOMPANIMENT is not allowed in any section of the Festival.
No unauthorised PHOTOGRAPHY, VIDEO & SOUND recording is allowed at the Festival whether using cameras, phones, or other equipment. Where parents/guardians/carers do not wish photos to be taken at all, then the responsible adult attending should ensure that their child/pupil/vulnerable adult is not included in official authorised photos.
OPEN CLASSES, AMATEURS & PROFESSIONALS. A professional is someone who earns their main livelihood from performing, not teaching, the instrument concerned. Medals are not awarded in the Open – Adult classes, and trophies are awarded at the discretion of the adjudicator.
Professionals may enter only the Open Classes and will not be eligible for trophies. However, an Open Ensemble of four or more players may contain one or more professionals (players or conductor) and still be eligible for a trophy. The number of such professionals must be stated on the entry forms.SUB-DIVIDING & COMBINING CLASSES, & ORDER OFPERFORMANCE. The organisers will sub-divide or combine classes if circumstances make this necessary or desirable. The order of performance within a Class is at the sole discretion of the Section Chairman. Only in exceptional circumstances will the printed order be varied and then only with the agreement of the
Adjudicator.SAFETY OF PERFORMERS. It is necessary for teachers and parents to be aware of their responsibilities in entering any performers with limited physical capabilities or special needs, bearing in mind the limitations imposed by the stage and surrounding environment. It is also necessary for the teacher or parent to pass on to the adjudicator, via the section chair, any such information that would impact on the adjudicator’s work.
ADJUDICATOR’S MARKS. When awarding marks, the Adjudicators will take into consideration the suitability of own choice material in own choice classes and competency when tuning instruments, when applicable.
AGE OF AUDIENCE. Children are very welcome at the Festival, both as performers and in the audience. Generally, we ask you to consider not bringing pre-school children to the Festival. We recognise that circumstances sometimes make this unavoidable. If so, please be prepared to take out your child if they start to cause any disturbance – in fairness to the performers and the audience around you – as we do not wish to have to ask you to leave the performance room.
LOSS OR DAMAGE. The Festival Committee can accept no responsibility for loss or damage to personal belongings or equipment brought to the Festival.
CANCELLATION. The Committee reserves the right to cancel a class without prior notice.
DATA PROTECTION ACT 1998. The Woodley Festival will hold data submitted on the entry form on computer, solely for the purpose of running the Festival. The data will not be made available, or communicated, to any third party.
SAFEGUARDING POLICY. This policy relates to children under the age of 18 years and those vulnerable adults of any age who are identified to the organisers prior to their arrival at the Festival. Copies of this policy will be on display during the Festival.
Piano Trophy Winners 2025
| Trophy | Description | Winner 2025 |
| Challenge Trophy | Championship Solo, Adult | Isabelle Curtis |
| Championship Trophy | Championship Solo, 18 & under | Samuel Chang |
| Cluff Memorial Trophy | Beginners 11 years & under | Ella Tran |
| Davy Trophy | Most promising junior, 11 years & under | Heison Ku |
| Denese Gray Memorial Trophy | Beginners 8 & under Stage 2 | Viraaj Fogla |
| Ellen Goodworth Memorial Trophy | At the discretion of the adjudicator | Alyssa Chan |
| Ellen Goodworth Music Trophy | Best performance in the duet classes | Emanuela Sin & Eve So |
| EPTA Cup | Junior recital class, 11 years & under | Vidush Hari |
| Festival Trophy (replaced by) Oakwood Trophy | At the discretion of the adjudicator | Katherine Luo |
| Helen Peet Concerto Cup | 18 & under | Yash Saran |
| J&J Trophy | Discretionary/Piano Trio 9 & under | Oscar Lyu, Eric Yu and Yuhan Deng |
| Jean Telfer Memorial Trophy | Recital class, 13 years & under | Peipei Xie |
| Joan Taylor Trophy | Recital, 15 & under | Sergey Druzhinin |
| John Manning Trophy | An exceptional performance, 8 years & under | Jiaming Guo |
| Kay Blackburn Trophy | Grade 1 class | Rishab Chougule |
| Kay Blackburn Trophy | Grade 2 class | Aaron Antiquisa |
| The Pavilion Trophy | An outstanding junior performance | Sergey Druzhinin |
| Pavilion Trophy | An outstanding junior performance | Sergey Druzhinin |
| The Ronald Hughes Rosebowl | Recital class, 18 years & under | Olivia Kennedy/Nolan Chencherry |
| Wokingham Times Trophy | Sonata Classes – 18 & under | |
| Wokingham Times Trophy | Sonata Class, adult | Eve Peirce |
| Wokingham Times Senior Trophy | Most promising senior, 12 years & over | David Dreebin |