The Competition


The Ross McKee Piano Competition has been a signature project of the Ross McKee Foundation each year since 1998. Launched by the Foundation’s highly respected first executive director, John Cron, the competition celebrates the talents of young piano virtuosi in the San Francisco Bay Area and Northern California. It has become one of the premiere piano competitions for young artists in Northern California.  

Over the past 27 years, seven hundred and fifty teenage pianists have applied to enter the competition, and, of them, 156 young artists have emerged. We call them the McKee Laureates. They have received $160,000 in prize money as well as performance opportunities, professional-level recordings, photos and videos of their performances. Many have continued their piano studies at conservatories and major universities across the country and some now have established careers as performers, educators and faculty members of major music conservatories and universities. Their achievements inspire both younger piano students and the piano-loving audiences that the Ross McKee Foundation serves.