In Competition years, the Honens in the Classroom program expands to involve not only Laureates but also pianists from the Competition. During the 2009 Competition, the Honens International Piano Competition invited six elementary schools to “adopt” one of the 21 Competition Quarterfinalists.

Honens International Piano Competition's Adopt-a-Competitor Program is a unique learning experience that exposes students to people from around the world that they would not meet every day. Elementary schools in Calgary "adopted" some of the outstanding concert pianists taking part in the 2009 Honens International Piano Competition. Students were treated to a 40-minute concert performance in the school auditorium followed by a question and answer session. After the concert, students followed their pianists' progress in the Competition through streaming-audio on the Honens website a penpal email forum.


  Watch a video of the Adopt-a-Competitor program