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Philadelphia Young Pianists' Academy Brings Young Pianists to Philadelphia for Master Classes
By: Rebecca Russo Jul. 26, 2016
Now in its fourth year as an international event, The Philadelphia Young Pianists' Academy (PYPA), returns to the Curtis Institute of Music this summer for eight days in August. Twenty outstanding young pianists ranging from ages 12 to 24 selected from the United States, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Hungary, Belgium and Columbia will gather at Curtis to study one-on-one with five international concert masters; The PYPA Director Ching-Yun Hu, Charles Abramovic, Zhaoyi Dan, Douglas Humpherys and Alon Goldstein. Five highly talented alternate students will also be invited to attend as observers. The young pianists were invited based on a rigorous selection process that included submitting a written application and an audio recording for review.
Founded by Philadelphia-based concert pianist and recording artist, Ching-Yun Hu, PYPA was launched in 2013 to help young artists from Asia and the West achieve their dreams of professional careers as world class concert pianists. Each of the young artists chosen will experience these special opportunities during the eight day-long PYPA:
• Five master classes taught by PYPA Faculty members Abramovic, Dan, Goldstein, Hu and Humpherys
· Access to practice rooms with Steinway pianos at the Curtis Institute of Music
• The opportunity to perform in the Field Concert Hall at Curtis Institute of Music
• The option for a day-trip to tour the Juilliard School of Music in Manhattan
• The chance to make friends with young artists from around the world
Ching-Yun shares her enthusiasm for this program. She said recently, "What makes PYPA unique in the world is the very focused attention each student receives in a concentrated period of one week. In many training situations involving young artists and professional concert pianists, several days, even weeks can pass between a master class and a recital of any kind. At PYPA, every young artist is able to focus on their best work for several days in a row, while getting immediate feedback from each of the faculty artists on site. This level of concentrated training can lead to real progress or even genuine breakthroughs in performance in the course of one week."
Between Tuesday, August 9 and Tuesday, August 16, 2016, the public is invited to the 240-seat Field Concert Hall at Curtis Institute to attend a series of solo concerts and master classes by each of the prestigious faculty of PYPA 2016 including Hu, Abramovic, Humpherys and Goldstein. A special concert with Hu and the Grammy-Award-winning Parker Quartet will also be featured.
Public concert highlights include these four solo recitals by PYPA faculty and a chamber music concert, all of which are ticketed events:
- Tuesday, August 9, 7:30 p.m. - Ching-Yun Hu
- Wednesday, August 10, 7:30 p.m. - Charles Abramovic
- Saturday, August 13, 7:30 p.m. - Douglas Humpherys
- Sunday, August 14, 4 p.m. - Ching-Yun Hu with Grammy-Award Winning Parker Quartet
- Tuesday, August 16, 7:30 p.m. - Alon Goldstein
Two young artist concerts will also be presented in Field Concert Hall at Curtis Institute at no charge*:
- Thursday, August 11, 7:30 p.m.
- Friday, August 12, 7:30 p.m.
*Please note, seats for these two concerts must be reserved in advance.
For more information and for tickets, please visit www.pypa.info. General admission tickets for each of the PYPA faculty concerts are $25 in advance at www.pypa.info or at the door, and $12 for students with valid I.D. Cash only at the door. A pass to observe a session of a PYPA master class is $15.
About Philadelphia Young Pianists' Academy (PYPA)
Founded in 2013, the Philadelphia Young Pianists' Academy (PYPA) is recognized as an important learning opportunity for some of the world's best young concert pianists. PYPA founder Ching-Yun Hu is also the artistic director of the Yun-Hsiang International Music Festival in Taipei. The winner of top prizes at the Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition in Tel Aviv and Concert Artists Guild International Competition in New York City, she performs in some of the most prestigious concert halls and music festivals in the world on five continents. Considered one of the most important concert pianists from her native Taiwan, Hu has received honorary recognition from the Taiwanese Cultural Committee and Ministry and the Golden Melody Awards. In addition to performing, she also serves on the faculty at the Esther Boyer College of Music at Temple University in Philadelphia.
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