Young pianists compete for $10,000 in prize money at biennial Carmel event.

It takes place every two years and it wraps up in one day. Contestants in the Carmel Music Society piano competition each offer a morning and an afternoon recital, with winners announced thereafter. The top three appear in concert that evening.

“It’s a packed day of competition and it can sometimes be quite emotional,” CMS co-president Anne Thorp says. “Over the years, my husband and I have become used to coping with some tears.”

The event may seem like it is packed into a day. But the emotion builds up over months. Open to players between ages 18-30 who reside, have studied in or were born in California, Oregon or Washington, musicians audition every other March by submitting recordings of classical masterworks. While the submissions are chosen by each contestant, the list of pieces they choose from are carefully selected by an examining committee.

“The guidelines of pieces they may submit is based on specific criteria,” Thorp says. “The idea is for them to display mastery in the various periods of classical piano music consistent with what would be expected of a professional piano soloist.”

The result is six finalists who will go head to head this weekend with $10,000 in prize money and a recital during the 2018-19 season hanging in the balance.

Judging this year are Heidi Hau, who won the 1999 competition and currently performs in the Bay Area; Hans Boepple of Santa Clara University, known locally for many Carmel Music Society performances; and Carmel resident and Cape Cod Symphony conductor Jung-Ho Pak.

The event was originally founded in the mid-’70s as an annual competition for vocalists, instrumentalists and pianists.

CARMEL MUSIC SOCIETY BIENNIAL PIANO COMPETITION judging 10:30am-3pm; concert 8pm Saturday, June 9. Sunset Center, San Carlos and Ninth, Carmel. Free. 625-9938, carmelmusic.org