Piano Program

Piano Program
Chamber Music at EMF
Concerto Competition
Academic Classes
2010 Piano Faculty and Visiting Artists

 

Piano Program

Recognized nationally by artists for its superior piano program, the 2010 five-week session will offer a limited number of piano students the opportunity to work with some of this country's finest teachers and performers. A Steinway Festival, this year's program is enhanced by the addition of three artist-in-residence, as well as popular visiting artists.

In 2010, the School's Piano Program will accept up to twenty-one qualified students for enrollment. The five-week program features formal instruction through private lessons, master classes, chamber music studies, and a variety of interesting classes offered each year focusing on everything from technique to the history of the instrument.

Private Study
The focus of the Piano Program is intensive study with the Festival's resident faculty. Students work on repertoire already in progress, improving technique, and learning new repertoire for student piano recitals. Teacher assignments are made at the beginning of the Festival. Students have ready access to more than 30 Steinway and Steinway-affiliated pianos - including at least 25 grand pianos - for daily practice and rehearsals.

Master Classes
Each week, piano students participate in a master class led by resident faculty members. Several students will be invited by the faculty to perform in master classes given by the guest artists-in-residence. These guest artist master classes are open to the public.

Performance Classes
In addition to master classes, students participate in weekly performance classes led by piano faculty. The small-group settings offer a supportive atmosphere for the development of performance skills.

Piano Literature Classes
Piano literature classes are led by faculty; each faculty member focuses on a different historical era, discussing the composers and musical styles of that time. By being exposed to a wide range of repertoire, students broaden their understanding of piano literature.

Seminars on the Art of Performance
In the past, these classes have been devoted to a variety of diverse topics such as: technique, historic recordings, competitions, career options, overcoming stage fright, memorization, meditation, and how to build a recital program.

Ensembles
Many opportunities are available for piano students to participate in ensembles. Students may be assigned to chamber music groups, orchestral parts, and/or piano ensemble study. Some piano students are selected to accompany other instrumentalists in the sonata literature and in master classes. All assignments are made at the discretion of the piano faculty.

Performance Opportunities
Kennedy CenterStudents perform on the weekly Piano Recital series, which is open to the public and broadcast on our region's NPR and classical music station - WFDD 88.5FM. There are also opportunities to perform with chamber ensembles and the student orchestras. Pianists may also compete in the Concerto Competition.  Selected students will perform at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC (This performance can be viewed here: Kennedy Center Performance) and at the beautiful Reynolda House Museum of American Art in Winston-Salem, NC. 

Faculty
James Giles
Yoshikazu Nagai
Gideon Rubin

Visiting Artists
Marian Hahn
Joseph Kalichstein
Rebecca Penneys
Tian Ying

Steinway
Steinway is the official piano of the Eastern Music Festival and School.

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World Class Guest Artists

From the beginning, the Eastern Music Festival has featured the world's most sought after artists and teachers, who work closely with its students and perform as part of its acclaimed concert series. Past seasons have included regular participation from musical legends like Nelita True, Menahem Pressler, Garrick Ohlsson, Vladimir Feltsman and Barry Douglas.

Chamber Music at EMF

All orchestral students participate in the Festival's chamber music program. Assignments are made by faculty at the beginning of the summer. Each ensemble rehearses four times a week. Two of the rehearsals are coached by a member of the faculty. Student chamber ensembles are often invited to perform on the Chamber Music Recital Series.

 

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Concerto Competition

Each year, the School sponsors a Concerto Competition which is open to all students. Preliminaries are held on the second Sunday of the Festival; finals are held on the third Sunday. Contestants may perform any solo work with orchestral accompaniment that was originally composed for their instrument and that does not exceed 18 minutes in length. Only one movement of a multi-movement work may be selected. Students wishing to participate in the Competition must submit repertoire selections by June 1st for approval. Approval is based upon the degree of difficulty of the orchestral score, due to the limited rehearsal time, and the availability of parts. Memorization of standard solo repertoire is required for the final round and the performance.

2009 Concerto Competition Winners
Jeong Eun Choe, piano
Fang-Wei Hsu, piano
Sophie Pariot, violin
Jason Spencer, clarinet
Daniel Taubenheim, trumpet

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Academic Classes

The School of the Eastern Music Festival offers classroom instruction in several areas related to the performance and business of music. In order to preserve valuable time for personal practice on one's instrument, students are limited to taking one academic class as part of their program. Since a number of classes have limited enrollment, registered students are urged to return class election forms early in order to maximize their chances of being assigned to their preferred class.

Alexander Technique
Certified Alexander Technique instructors offer weekly classes for students helping enhance instrumental performance by improving freedom of movement, balance, flexibility, and coordination. The fee for this course is $175, which includes four group sessions, two 30-minute private lessons and a textbook, but enrollment is limited. Students may schedule private Alexander Technique lessons outside of the class for $50 per hour; these private lessons are available to all students, whether or not they are enrolled in the class.

Secondary Instrument Lessons
In addition to an academic class, students may elect to take lessons on a secondary instrument during the Festival. All students wishing to do so must audition for the faculty of their secondary instrument at the beginning of the Festival for teacher assignment. An additional fee may apply.

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