MusicFest held at Cal State

SAN MARCOS — The third annual MusicFest competition will take place Oct. 4 at Cal State San Marcos. The winners will play a concert on Oct. 12 at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido. Both events are free.
MusicFest is a yearly event sponsored by The California International Young Artists Competition, or CIYAC, a public benefit corporation whose mission is to encourage the appreciation and performance of classical music by young people. CIYAC also sponsors an annual international competition for musicians, and is involved in outreach education programs with the Escondido Unified School District and the San Diego County community.
The MusicFest contestants hail from Southern California and will compete in the categories of piano, strings, winds, voice and ensemble. Group size can range from duo to octet.  There will be a panel of three judges for each category and performances, and each performance will be graded with a ten-point scale on ten criteria. Contest results, judges’ written comments, medals, and certificates will be presented immediately after the auditions. Every participant will receive a certificate, with the top solo performers in each category also receiving either gold, silver or bronze medals.
The competition will take place from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the arts building on the CSUSM campus. The public is invited to attend.
MusicFest is supported by the generosity of Dr. David and Lynn Tagge, the Staples Foundation, CSUSM Center ARTES, the California Center for the Arts, Escondido, the city of Escondido and San Diego County.
For information, call Mel Takahara, executive director of CIYAC, at (760) 580-0518 or visit www.ciyac.org.