Kent State’s Piano Institute Presents Its Eighth Annual Gala Concert and Series of Performances

The 2013 Piano Institute, in association with the Piano Division of the Hugh A. Glauser School of Music at Kent State University, will present a series of master classes and recitals from July 14-20 on the university’s campus and culminate with the July 23 gala concert at Severance Hall’s Reinberger Chamber Hall in Cleveland. The eight-year-old program is a highly intensive festival for talented piano students in grades 7-12. The July 23 gala concert will feature 14 highly gifted pre-collegiate pianists from the United States, China, Russia and the Czech Republic. Except for the July 16 recital, the master classes, recitals and gala concert are free and open to the public.

Instructors of the Piano Institute include Donna Lee, D.M.A., associate professor and coordinator of the Piano Division at Kent State, and Jerry Wong, D.M.A., associate professor of piano at Kent State. Guest artists for this year’s Piano Institute are Alexander Schimpf, concert pianist and the 2011 winner of the Cleveland Piano International Competition, and Joela Jones, principal keyboardist with the Cleveland Orchestra.

Piano Institute participants receive four hours of one-on-one lessons daily; attend master classes; and study sight-reading, technique, practicing and audition/competition preparation. They also will have the unique opportunity to share in the Kent/Blossom Music program, a premiere summer institution for summer collegiate level study of solo, chamber and orchestral literature.

For more information, please call 330-672-1061 or visit www.kent.edu/pianoinstitute.

Piano Institute Activities

SUNDAY, JULY 14, 3:30 p.m.
Piano Institute Faculty Recital featuring Donna Lee, Kent State associate professor and coordinator of the Piano Division in the Hugh A. Glauser School of Music, and Jerry Wong, Kent State associate professor and co-director of the Piano Institute
Ludwig Recital Hall in Music and Speech Building, Kent State University

TUESDAY, JULY 16, 3:45 p.m.
Master class with Donna Lee, Kent State associate professor and coordinator of the Piano Division in the Hugh A. Glauser School of Music, and co-director of the Piano Institute
University Auditorium in Cartwright Hall, Kent State University

TUESDAY, JULY 16, 7:30 p.m.
Recital featuring Alexander Schimpf, concert pianist and the 2011 winner of the Cleveland Piano International Competition
Ludwig Recital Hall in Music and Speech Building, Kent State University
*Admission required. Prices are $15 for adults, $13 for seniors and $5 for students. To order tickets, please call 330-672-2613 and leave a message with your name and phone number. Someone will return your call as soon as they can. Tickets also will be available one hour before the performance at the box office outside Ludwig Recital Hall. The box office accepts Visa, MasterCard, Discover, checks and cash.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 17, 3:45 p.m.
Master class with Alexander Schimpf, concert pianist and the 2011 winner of the Cleveland Piano International Competition
University Auditorium in Cartwright Hall, Kent State University

THURSDAY, JULY 18, 3:45 p.m.
Master class with Jerry Wong, Kent State associate professor and co-director of the Piano Institute
University Auditorium in Cartwright Hall, Kent State University

SATURDAY, JULY 20, 10 a.m.
Master class with Joela Jones, principal keyboardist with the Cleveland Orchestra
University Auditorium in Cartwright Hall, Kent State University

TUESDAY, JULY 23, 7 p.m.
Gala concert featuring all Piano Institute participants
Reinberger Chamber Hall at Severance Hall, Cleveland

Ludwig Recital Hall is located in the Music and Speech Building at 1325 Theatre Drive in Kent. University Auditorium in Cartwright Hall is located on Terrace Drive, off of Main Street, in Kent. Reinberger Chamber Hall at Severance Hall is located at 11001 Euclid Ave. in Cleveland.

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Photo Caption:
Donna Lee, an associate professor of music and coordinator of the Piano Division at Kent State University, instructs a student at the university’s Piano Institute. The eight-year-old program is a highly intensive festival for talented piano students in grades 7-12.

Media Contacts:
Monica Brately, mbratel1@kent.edu, 330-672-1061
Emily Vincent, evincen2@kent.edu, 330-672-8595