SEPF 2023 Tickets Now on Sale

For one week every June, the Southeastern Piano Festival (SEPF) transforms the University of South Carolina School of Music and the city of Columbia into a major cultural destination that draws in audiences and young piano talent from across the United States. The Southeastern Piano Festival embraces a multi-faceted personality. It is:

· a high-level training platform for the young pianists,

· a presenter of new and world-renowned concert pianists and master teachers,

· an advocate for new piano music, and

· a vehicle for exploring different roles the piano plays on stage and beyond.

We are thrilled to announce that world-renowned artists John O’Conor, Anthony De Mare, Ying Li, and Roman Rabinovich, will be featured in concert during the 2023 Southeastern Piano Festival. We look forward to hosting their evening concerts June 11-17 at the University of South Carolina campus. See below for full schedule of events and tickets!

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Southeastern Piano Festival 2023 Concerts

Sunday, June 11

Opening Celebration Concert

USC School of Music Recital Hall • 4 p.m.

Celebrating the opening of the week-long Festival with SEPF’s illustrious piano faculty in solo, duo and piano ensembles.

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Monday, June 12

Artist Showcase: Roman Rabinovich

USC School of Music Recital Hall • 7:30 p.m.

Praised for his ‘uncommon sensitivity and feeling’ (The New York Times), eloquent pianist Roman Rabinovich performs at the School of Music Recital Hall.

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Tuesday, June 13

Artist Showcase: Ying Li

USC School of Music Recital Hall • 7:30 p.m.

First Prize winner in the 2021 Young Concert Artists Susan Wadsworth International Auditions.

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Wednesday, June 14

Artist Showcase: Anthony de Mare

USC School of Music Recital Hall • 7:30 p.m.

One of the world’s foremost champions of contemporary music, Steinway Artist Anthony De Mare, performs from his most recent project, Liaisons: Re-Imagining Sondheim from the Piano.

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Thursday, June 15

Artist Showcase: John O’Conor

USC School of Music Recital Hall • 7:30 p.m.

Irish pianist and Steinway Artist John O’Conor brings his masterful playing to the School of Music Recital Hall.

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Friday, June 16

Arthur Fraser International Piano Concerto Competition

USC School of Music Recital Hall • 10:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Free and open to the public.

Saturday, June 17

Winners Recital

USC School of Music Recital Hall • 7:30 p.m.

The winners of the Arthur Fraser International Piano Competition are featured in an evening of dazzling showstoppers.

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Follow Us for Updates!

Full festival schedule is available on our website. To watch past performances from previous Southeastern Piano Festival guest artists and competitors, visit us at our Youtube page. Follow the SEPF social media accounts (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) to meet the #SEPF2023 participants and for further festival updates!

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2023 Participants Announced

We are thrilled to announce the 20 selected participants of the 2023 season!

SEPF 2023 Participants

Ariel Chien, Menlo Park, CA

Harry Ding, Mount Pleasant, SC

Zhong An Feng, Hong Kong, China

Noah Kim, Vernon Hills, IL

Vivian Kao, Cupertino, CA

Brian Lin, Fremont, CA

Sophia Lin, Falls Church, VA

James Liu, Allen, TX

Matthew Liu, Lawrence, KS

Sigrid Liu, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

Guanji Lu, Dallas, TX

Norman Lu, Newton, MA

Kai Kit Ong, Winston-Salem, NC

Jacob Rockower, Palo Alto, CA

Christina Sung, Salt Lake City, UT

Celicia Thendean, Pleasanton, CA

Rachel Wei, Vancouver, BC

Samantha Wuo, Sunnyvale, CA

Keliang Yao, Lebanon, OH

Ziyue Zeng, Aptos, CA

Selected from a record-high number of international applicants, these participants will take part in an immersive week of lessons and masterclasses with renowned master teachers and experience performances by internationally-acclaimed artists. Learn about each gifted young artist on our website.

Participants will compete in the Arthur Fraser International Piano Competition for $10,000 in prizes and the opportunity to perform a complete concerto with the South Carolina Philharmonic in the Masterworks concert series. Additional prize categories include best performance of a contemporary work, discretionary awards, and Young Jury Award.

We cannot wait for their arrival to the festival in June! Stay tuned on our social media accounts (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) for individual introductions of each participant.

Announcing Results of the 2022 Arthur Fraser International Piano Competition

The 2022 Arthur Fraser International Piano Competition at the University of South Carolina School of Music was a thrilling day of outstanding performances. After deliberation, the jury announced the following results to the audience:

• First Prize: Katherine Liu
• Second Prize: Jinyoung Kweon
• Third Prize: Helaine Zhao
• Young Jury Award: Nathaniel Zhang
• Best Performance of a Solo Work: Matthew Liu
• Best Performance of a Work Written Since 1990: Katherine Liu
• Discretionary Award: Elsie Lu
• Discretionary Award: Luke Turner
• Discretionary Award: Ryan Wang

2022 Arthur Fraser International Piano Competition Results

2022 Arthur Fraser International Piano Competition Winners

The finalists competed for over $10,000 in prizes and numerous performance opportunities. The First Prize winner, Katherine Liu, will perform a complete concerto with the South Carolina Philharmonic in the Masterworks concert series during a future season. Additional professional engagements are offered to all prize winners. Congratulations to all participants for their brilliant performances, hard work, and dedication!

Renowned pianist Antonio Pompa-Baldi joins SEPF Guest Artists

We are thrilled to welcome Van Cliburn silver-medalist Antonio Pompa-Baldi to our illustrious lineup of guest artists. Born and raised in Foggia, Italy, Antonio Pompa-Baldi won the Cleveland International Piano Competition in 1999 and embarked on a career that continues to extend across five continents. Learn more about Mr. Pompa-Baldi’s impressive career on our website.

We present Antonio Pompa-Baldi in concert Wednesday, June 15 at 7:30PM in the UofSC School of Music Recital Hall. This concert is only available as an in-person event and seating is limited, so purchase your ticket as soon as possible!

2022 SEPF Guest Artist Antonio Pompa-Baldi

In addition to performing works by Bach-Busoni, Franz Liszt, and Howard Ferguson, Mr. Pompa-Baldi will perform Glances on the Divine Comedy by Roberto Piana, a work commissioned by and dedicated to Pompa-Baldi himself. Glances on the Divine Comedy is a set of 25 pieces, each portraying a character, or a place, from the epic Poem by Dante Alighieri.

Additionally, he will serve as jury chair of the Arthur Fraser International Piano Competition all day Friday, June 17 and lead a masterclass on Saturday, June 18 3:00pm-4:00pm.

Antonio Pompa-Baldi is replacing Fabio Bidini, who was previously scheduled for the Wednesday evening Artist Showcase. He could no longer join us due to unforeseen circumstances. We are thankful for the serendipity that Mr. Pompa-Baldi was available due to the cancellation of another engagement.

View our full concert schedule of remaining events on our website and follow our social media (Instagram, Facebook) for updates!

SEPF Offers Free Streaming

Ever since its inception, the Southeastern Piano Festival has been highly praised for providing a rigorous training platform for aspiring young pianists and presenting outstanding piano concerts by celebrated and new artists. For the special 20th year anniversary, many events are offered FREE to the public both in person and online via streaming services.

Explore our program of free events and streaming links below!

Tuesday 6/14 1pm SEPF on the Road

Thursday 6/16 10am Eteri Andjaparidze Masterclass

Thursday 6/16 4:30pm Marian Stanley Tucker Guest Lecture Series: Eteri Andjaparidze

Friday 6/17 10am-9pm Arthur Fraser International Piano Competition

Saturday 6/18 10am Masterclass with Jeffrey Brown, Marina Lomazov, and Joseph Rackers

Saturday 6/18 3pm Masterclass with Antonio Pompa-Baldi and Eteri Andjaparidze

Saturday 6/18 7:30pm Winners’ Recital: Arthur Fraser International Piano Competition

SEPF 20th year tickets are on sale!

Five Piano Extravaganza in Johnson Hall

An Extravaganza of Talent

“Inspiring.” “Magical.” “Life-changing.” These are only few of the words that our alumni use to describe their experience at Southeastern Piano Festival.

This year’s popular Piano Extravaganza, a dazzling display of multiple piano ensembles, featuring popular and exciting classical piano music includes alumni Susan Zhang, Clayton Stephenson, Caleb Borick, Chaeyoung Park, Sasha Kasman, Adrian King, Sonya Schumann and Leo Svirsky.

Evening solo concerts by Canadian pianist Jon Kimura Parker, Italian pianist and technical wizard Fabio Bidini, Grammy-nominated pianist Joyce Yang, and returning SEPF alum Eric Lu will be held in the UofSC School of Music’s Recital Hall.

To purchase tickets, visit our website southeasternpianofestival.com or click here.

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Emerging Artists

Selected from a record-high number of applicants from throughout North America, 20 participants will take part in an immersive week of lessons and masterclasses with renowned master teachers. These young pianists, ages 13-18, will perform and compete in the Arthur Fraser International Piano Competition for $10,000 in prizes and the opportunity to perform a complete concerto with the South Carolina Philharmonic.

Delivering Music to the Community

Adrian King, SEPF alum, on The Concert Truck outside Koger Center

Impassioned by their love for music, pianists Nick Luby and Susan Zhang converted a 16-foot box truck into a fully functioning mobile concert hall, complete with lights, sound system and piano. Since then, The Concert Truck has made live music accessible to everyone. Luby and Zhang will once again offer free, lunchtime performances in downtown Columbia locations during the festival.

Interview/Coverage Opportunities

Lomazov and Rackers will be available the week before the festival for interviews. To arrange an interview, contact Marlena Crovatt-Bagwell at (803) 777-7962 or crovattb@mailbox.sc.edu.

http://southeasternpianofestival.com/

2022 Festival Participants Announced

We are thrilled to announce the 20 selected participants of the 2022 season!

SEPF 2022 Participants

Spencer Cha, 17, Los Altos, CA
Jerry Chang, 14, Saint Louis, MO
David Choi, 14 Los Angeles, CA
Kimiko Darcy, 17, Chicago, IL
Wanqing Anita Hao, 15, Alberta, Canada
Sophia Kim, 16, Wayne NJ
Jinyoung Kweon, 18, Natick, MA
Brian Li, 14, British Columbia, Canada
Katherine Liu, 17, Wellesley, MA
Matthew Liu, 15, Lawrence, Kansas
Elsie Lu, 16 British Columbia, Canada
Jeston Lu, 16, Fremont, CA
Cristian Makhuli, 17, Charlotte, NC
Celicia Thendean, 14, Pleasanton, CA
Luke Turner, 18, Birmingham, AL
Ryan Wang, 16, Mountain View, CA
Cory Wu, 17, Powell, OH
Kyle Yeung, 14, Irvine, CA
Nathaniel Zhang, 15, Folsom, CA
Helaine Zhao, 15, Irvine, CA

Selected from a record-high number of applicants from throughout North America, these participants will take part in an immersive week of lessons and masterclasses with renowned master teachers and experience performances by internationally-acclaimed artists.

Additionally, participants will compete in the Arthur Fraser International Piano Competition for $10,000 in prizes and the opportunity to perform a complete concerto with the South Carolina Philharmonic in the Masterworks concert series. Additional prize categories include best performance of a contemporary work, discretionary awards, and Young Jury Award.

We cannot wait for their arrival to the festival in June! Stay tuned on our social media accounts (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) for individual introductions of each participant.

Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of SEPF

This summer, the Southeastern Piano Festival is celebrating its 20th anniversary June 12-19, 2022! Join us to celebrate two decades of presenting the best of emerging and world-renowned piano talent to audiences in the southeast and beyond.

Southeastern Piano Festival

In this special year, we will feature 20 SEPF alumni in performances and conversations to celebrate 20 years of presenting emerging and established performers and providing a training platform for the best precollege pianists nationally and internationally. Featured alumni include Susan Zhang, Clayton Stephenson, Caleb Borick, Chaeyoung Park, Sasha Kasman, Adrian King, Sonya Schumann, Leo Svirsky, and many more.  The audiences who remember them as participants in past festivals will be astonished at their musical and personal growth, as they perform in many indoor and outdoor concerts during the week of the festival.

This year’s Piano Extravaganza promises to be an extraordinary piano event.  Many alumni will take part in piano solo, duo and ensembles works in what will truly be a piano fireworks showcase.

In addition to celebrating our alumni, the exciting guest artist roster features Jon Kimura Parker, Fabio Bidini, Joyce Yang, and rising star, Eric Lu, our own alumnus and winner of the Leeds International Piano Competition, one of the most prestigious piano competitions in the world. 

Eric Lu, 2013 SEPF Prizewinner

Eric was a prizewinner in the 2013 Arthur Fraser International Piano Competition, sponsored by the Symphony League of South Carolina Philharmonic, a partner of the Southeastern Piano Festival.  Since that time, he became the first prize winner of Chopin National Piano Competition in Miami and took one of the top prizes in the Warsaw Chopin Piano Competition.  He has just released a new recording of piano music by the great Romantics Chopin, Brahms and Schumann and is concertizing around the globe.

A number of events during the festival will take place on The Concert Truck, a mobile concert stage that was the conceived by Nicholas Luby and Susan Zhang, another illustrious festival alumna. Nick and Susan have taken The Concert Truck literally all over the country this past year, and their endeavor has brought music to dozens of locations during the pandemic that otherwise would not have had access to live music.  They have given over 100 concerts in the past year and are on the roster of Opus 3 Artists.

We invite you to celebrate with us!  Become a patron of the festival and receive two reserved seats to every concert or purchase single tickets online or at the door.  Concerts will take place at Johnson Performance Hall at the Moore School of Business, the University of South Carolina School of Music Recital Hall, Trinity Cathedral, and Columbia Museum of Art and pop-up concerts will take place in many outdoor venues.  We cannot wait to welcome you to our live concerts this summer!

Jon Kimura Parker, SEPF 2022 Guest Artist

As always, the week-long festival culminates with the Arthur Fraser International Piano Competition, where festival participants compete for over $10,000 in prizes and the opportunity to perform a complete concerto with the South Carolina Philharmonic. Applications are now open! Full guidelines and eligibility are available on our website. To watch past performances from previous Southeastern Piano Festival guest artists and competitors, visit our YouTube page. Follow the SEPF social media accounts (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) for more 2022 festival updates!

Announcing the 2021 Arthur Fraser International Piano Competition Winners

The 2021 Arthur Fraser International Piano Competition was a thrilling day of outstanding performances. The Southeastern Piano Festival participants performed live at the University of South Carolina’s School of Music Recital Hall to a socially distanced audience as well as to thousands of viewers around the world via livestream.

After deliberation, the jury announced the following results to the audience:

First Prize: Solomon Ge

Second Prize: Nathaniel Zhang

Third Prize: Andrew Gu

Young Jury Award: Solomon Ge

Best Solo Work: Solomon Ge and Andrew Gu

Best Work Written Since 1990: Katherine Liu

Discretionary Award: Malvyn Lai

Discretionary Award: Andrew Shi

Discretionary Award: Adrian Zaragoza

2021 Arthur Fraser International Piano Competition Results

2021 Arthur Fraser International Piano Competition Winners

The finalists competed for over $10,000 in prizes and numerous performance opportunities. The First Prize winner, Solomon Ge, will perform a complete concerto with the South Carolina Philharmonic in the Masterworks concert series during a future season. The Second and Third Prize winners, Nathaniel Zhang and Andrew Gu, will have opportunities to perform with the SC Philharmonic and SC Youth Orchestra at the discretion of the South Carolina Philharmonic Music Director. Additional professional engagements are offered to all prize winners.

Congratulations to all finalists for their brilliant performances, hard work, and dedication!

Watch the Arthur Fraser International Piano Competition stream

Today the participants of the 2021 Southeastern Piano Festival are competing in the Arthur Fraser International Piano Competition for more than $10,000 in prizes and an opportunity to perform with the South Carolina Philharmonic orchestra.

Click here to watch the stream of the competition.

Click on “flipbook” to read more about our participants.

10:00AM JUSTIN WAHBY
10:20AM KATIE LIU
10:40AM BRIAN LIN
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11:10AM ANDREW SHI
11:30AM JESLYN ZHU
11:50AM MI-HYUN SUH
Lunch Break
2:00PM SOLOMON GE
2:20PM KATHERINE LIU
2:40PM ALYSSA GABRILOVICH
3:00PM ADRIAN KING
pause
3:35PM NATHANIEL ZHANG
3:55PM ADRIAN ZARAGOVA
4:15PM KENNETH HE
4:35PM LUKE TURNER
Dinner Break
7:30PM RYAN SHENG
7:50PM ANDREW GU
8:10PM MALVYN LAI
pause
8:40PM SPENCER TSAI
9:00PM CHRISTOPHER SHIN
9:30PM ANNOUNCEMENTS