Southeastern Piano Festival brings world concert halls to UofSC
Posted on: June 5, 2018; Updated on: June 5, 2018
By Peggy Binette, peggy@mailbox.sc.edu, 803-777-7704
The Southeastern Piano Festival, under the direction of Marina Lomazov and Joseph Rackers, has become one of the premier piano experiences for performance and young talent in the world.
“It’s an extraordinary experience and a privilege for our School of Music to offer the highest caliber learning and performance opportunities available to young pianists,” Lomazov says. “Equally exciting is what this festival brings to Columbia. People would have to travel to concert halls in New York, Paris, Milan and Shanghai to see these pianists perform. For one week each year, Columbia becomes the world’s greatest concert stage.”
In its 16th year, the festival offers South Carolinians the rare opportunity to hear renowned artists perform. It also provides 20 of the nation’s top pre-college pianists the opportunity to take master classes with top pianists and university piano faculty as well as perform and compete for prizes.
The festival’s concerts blend traditional classical works with fresh and creative multimedia presentations for classical piano in a contemporary world. As new generations discover the festival, interest and ticket sales have surged.
The festival opens June 17 with a piano extravaganza that features riveting ensemble pieces for multiple pianos as well as duo and solo works. Lomazov and Rackers will perform alongside fellow university piano professors Charles Fugo and Phillip Bush and Southeastern Piano Festival young alumni Hugo Kitano and Aleksandra Kasman and guest pianists.
Evening concerts feature guest artists Charlie Albright, Lera Auerbach, Simone Dinnerstein
and Antonio Pompa-Baldi.
Albright, artist-in-residence for Harvard University’s Leverett House, a position
last filled by cellist Yo-Yo Ma, will perform works by Chopin as well as his own compositions
and improvisations. Auerbach, a Russian-American composer, pianist, poet and visual
artist, will combine her visual and music arts in the premier of a solo work inspired
by a photo exhibition. Dinnerstein will present Bach’s towering masterpiece, the Goldberg
Variations, a work that landed her No. 1 on the classical Billboard charts. Pompa-Baldi,
who appears regularly at major concert venues globally, will showcase an array of
rarely-performed classical gems as well as new works inspired by 20th-century French
composer and cabaret performer Edith Piaf.
People would have to travel to concert halls in New York, Paris, Milan and Shanghai to see these pianists perform. For one week each year, Columbia becomes the world’s greatest concert stage.
Marina Lomazov, festival founder and artistic director
The Southeastern Piano Festival will culminate with the Arthur Fraser International Piano Competition on June 22.
At the all-day event, young pianists, age 13-18, will perform and compete for more
than $9,000 in cash prizes and the opportunity to perform with the South Carolina
Philharmonic Orchestra. The winners’ finale concert will take place at 7:30 p.m. June
23, followed by a closing ceremony and reception. Both days’ events are free and open
to the public.
Rackers says the caliber of festival applicants continues to rise.
“Each year the pool of students exceeds our expectations in both scope and depth of
talent,” Rackers says. “The Southeastern Piano Festival is the pinnacle for the most
talented young pianists in the United States to further their musical development
in learning and performance.”
If you're going
While many of the festival’s concerts are free, guest artist concerts require ticket purchase. Tickets are available for purchase on the festival’s website, where additional information about concerts, artists, student participants and master classes can be found.
Sunday, June 17
4 p.m. | Piano Extravaganza
Johnson Performance Hall, Darla Moore School of Business
Tickets: $20 for the general public, $5 for students and free for children under 18
Monday, June 18
4:30 p.m. | Master class and open discussion with Rebecca Penneys
School of Music Recital Hall
Admission is free
7:30 p.m. | Artist showcase featuring Lera Auerbach
School of Music Recital Hall
Tickets: $20 for the general public, $5 for students and free for children under 18
Tuesday, June 19
1:30 p.m. | Piano concert
Trinity Episcopal Cathedral
Admission is free
7:30 p.m. |Artist showcase featuring Charlie Albright
School of Music Recital Hall
Tickets: $20 for the general public, $5 for students and free for children under 18
Wednesday, June 20
4:30 p.m. Alumni showcase featuring Hugo Kitano and Aleksandra Kasman
School of Music Recital Hall
Admission is free
7:30 p.m. | Artist showcase featuring Antonio Pampa-Baldi
Trinity Episcopal Cathedral
Tickets: $20 for the general public, $5 for students and free for children under 18
Thursday, June 21
4:30 p.m. | Marian Stanley Tucker Lecture Series featuring John Perry and Sasha Starcevich
School of Music Recital Hall
Admission is free
7:30 p.m. | Artist Showcase featuring Simone Dinnerstein
Johnson Performance Hall, Darla Moore School of Business
Tickets: $20 for the general public, $5 for students and free for children under 18
Friday, June 22
10 a.m., 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. |Arthur Fraser International Piano Competition
School of Music Recital Hall
Admission is free
Saturday, June 23
Master classes featuring Simon Dinnerstein (10 a.m.), Sasha Starcevich (11 a.m.),
John Perry (3 p.m.) and Antonio Pampa-Baldi (4 p.m.)
School of Music Recital Hall
Admission is free
7:30 p.m. Winners Recital
School of Music Recital Hall
Tickets: $10 for the general public, $5 for students and free for children under 18
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