Professional Level of Performance?

[alistaircrane4]

When applying for a certain competition the organized stated for Pianists with a professional level of performance. Do degrees qualify you for professional status i.e masters degree in classical performance. If not what do I do to achieve this requirement?

[lazyfingers]

I believe it depends more on the institution than on the level of degree. Where I live, one university only accepts students who are at a licentiate level, another accepts at an intermediate level, and there is one which accepts students who can't read notes. So, what sort of graduate do they produce?

[j_menz]

I think it's more to cut down applications to those likely to be accepted. There's no qualification required, but you need to consider whether you can compete with the likely competitors - in this case a very high standard - before applying.