The Southeastern Piano Festival is delighted to announce 2019 Guest Artists Marc-André Hamelin, Yoheved Kaplinsky, Jon Nakamatsu, the piano duo of Alessio Bax and Lucille Chung, Alan Chow, and Conrad Tao. Taking place June 16-23 on campus of the University of South Carolina and other concert venues in Columbia, SC, the festival serves a dual mission, to present world-renown pianists to audience across South Carolina and beyond and to provide a training platform for twenty of the most gifted pre-college pianists from across the United States.
Presenting evening concerts are Marc-André Hamelin, known worldwide for his consummate musicianship and brilliant technique in the great works of the piano repertoire; Jon Nakamatsu, an international artist known for the excitement and elegance of his solo, concerto, and chamber performances; the piano duo of Alessio Bax and Lucille Chung, whose careers as solo and duo pianists have taken them around the world; and pianist/composer Conrad Tao, dubbed a musician of “probing intellect and open-hearted vision” by the New York Times.
“We are thrilled to present world-class guest artists to audiences across the Southeast and the 2019 festival promises be an incredible week of music.”, says Artistic Director Joseph Rackers. “These wonderful musicians bring virtuosity, artistry and insight to their performances and are sure to inspire audiences and students alike”.
Masterclasses will be presented by Yoheved Kaplinsky, Chair of the Piano Department at the Juilliard School in New York; Alan Chow, who has won First Prize in the Concert Artists Guild International Competition and is professor piano at the Eastman School of Music; and Raymond Herbert, former Chair of the piano department at the University of Missouri and teacher of prizewinning students across the country. The festival culminates with the Arthur Fraser International Piano Competition on June 21, 2019.
A new unique initiative at the 2019 Piano Festival is Piano X. This initiative aims to explore and showcase new voices, new formats and the new direction the piano can take as a solo and collaborative instrument in today’s live music scene. Headlined by Conrad Tao, who will perform an evening recital on Monday, June 17, the initiative will also include presentations, workshops, and open panel discussions by David Cutler, a composer, pianist, author and a leading figure in the bourgeoning field of music entrepreneurship, Leo Svirsky, past winner of the festival, and a pianist and composer with unique and innovative voice, and Susan Zhang, also past winner of the festival, who together with her partner, Nick Luby, co-founded “The Concert Truck”. “This new endeavor has been in the development for several years.”, says Artistic Director Marina Lomazov. ” The ‘X’ in Piano X stands for ‘unknown factor’, and it also stands for exploration, experimentation. excitement. The festival is eager to showcase and support those who find new paths or see the familiar through a different lens.”
For more information, please visit our website, or browse our Facebook or Instagram pages. To watch performances from previous Southeastern Piano Festival guest artists and competitors, visit our Youtube page.
KonZert KidZ, an initiative begun in summer of 2016, became a full-fledged movement over the past two years with over 300 children and adults attending concerts at the Southeastern Piano Festival and during regular concert seasons, with free tickets for kids and reduced ticket prices for adults. Designed to attract young audiences to concert halls, KonZert KidZ gives children the foundation for a life-long appreciation of the concert experience. The program is back this June for the Southeastern Piano Festival, June 17-23, with family-friendly concerts, all week long.
Marina Lomazov, SEPF Artistic Director, at 2016 SEPF Piano Extravaganza with KonZert KidZ
Mount Royal University Conservatory in Calgary, CA. In July 2017, he was a finalist and prize winner of the international “Prix Orford Musique” in Quebec, Canada. David Hou, the first-prize winner in 2016 later became a semifinalist in the 2016 Cooper International Piano Competition, and a contestant in the 2017 International E-Competition.
After celebrating the Fifteenth Anniversary in June, the Southeastern Piano Festival Directors look forward to the planning and preparation of the 2018 festival. “Celebrating 15 years of music making in 2017 was unforgettable. Every concert that week was special from Frederic Chiu’s unexpected ‘face-off’ pairing of Debussy and Prokofiev, to Vadym Kholodenko’s mesmerizing Scriabin and the show-stopping brilliance of Anderson and Roe’s performance”, says Marina Lomazov, the Festival’s Artistic Director.
