Dan's Papers - June 19, 2009 - Young Pianists Bang it out for Pianofest

What do you get when you combine some of the most talented student piano players from all over the world with some of the biggest cultural institutions in the Hamptons? You get Pianofest, one very exciting series of piano performances throughout the East End.

Described as a summer festival, Pianofest takes a select group of auditioned student piano players and gives them performance opportunities at some of the best venues around. The audition process is very rigorous, with just 14 piano players hosted at a time. The students, from out of town, stay with local families, who, of course, are happy to have them, especially the ones who have pianos for them to play on.

The first session of students are flying in on June 22 and their performances are not to be missed. The first session runs from June 22 to July 20 so there will be plenty of opportunities to hear live and professional piano performances by the students of Pianofest.

The first performance, on Monday, June 29 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Levitas Center for the Arts at the Southampton Cultural Center, is not to be missed.

Paul Schenly, head of the piano department at the Cleveland Institute of Music and music director of Pianofest, will be present at every performance throughout the entire summer, and according to all accounts, is a true delight.

Steve Dickman, who is the operations manager of Pianofest, said, "This is the 21st year of Pianofest and it is going to be the best one we've ever had. Paul is just loved by all of the students and is a very generous guy. We get a crowd of nearly 200 or 300 people nearly every performance, every year and the audience loves coming to see this."

Other faculty artists involved in the performances besides Schenly are Claude Frank who has repeatedly appeared in some of the world's foremost orchestras, as well as Melvin Chen, who is recognized as an important young artist and has had acclaimed performances throughout the country.

With students practicing every day at a building off Pantigo Road in East Hampton that houses about a dozen or so pianos for them to practice on for the local concerts, Pianofest offers a truly special experience not just for the audiences who come to see the performances, but also for the students that are accepted into the program. The camaraderie and bonding that takes place between the students adds to the specialness of their performances. According to the Web site pianofest.com, "Pianofest makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside."

If you can't make it to the June 29 performance, you can check out the next one at the Avram Theater at Stony Brook Southampton on July 6 from 5 to 7 p.m. You can view a full list of the performance schedules at pianofest.com. Tickets for all Monday performances are just $12 and can only be purchased at the door, so it is recommended that you get there on time or early so you can be guaranteed tickets. The concerts are followed by a reception to meet the artists and all students can come to the performances free of charge.

On July 18, at the Madoo Conservancy Gardens in Sagaponack, a benefit for Pianofest will take place between 5 and 7 p.m. The party will include food, wine and of course a wonderful piano concert. Tickets to that benefit are $75 and it is highly recommended that you attend to support such a worthy cause. You can call the Pianofest directly by calling 631-835-2645 or 631-329-9115 to reserve tickets.