Philadelphia Young Pianists Academy to Celebrate Fifth Year This August; Teachers Updated!
By: BWW News Desk Jul. 18, 2017
The Philadelphia Young Pianists' Academy (PYPA) will be celebrating its fifth year as an international event when it returns to the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music located at 1726 Locust St in Philadelphia from August 8 through August 15, 2017.
Twenty outstanding young pianists, aged from 12-26, are selected from a worldwide pool of applicants to learn from international concert masters. The young pianists were invited based on a rigorous selection process that included submitting a written application and an audio recording for review.
Each student participating in PYPA will have the opportunity to learn alongside world-renowned international concert masters led by PYPA Director and Founder Ching-Yun Hu in her fifth year. Other international concert masters include former Curtis Institute of Music president Gary Graffman, Concert Pianis; Ursula Oppens, Concert Pianist and Distinguished Professor of Music at Brooklyn College and CUNY Graduate Center; and, Mira Yevtich, Co-founder of the Mariinsky International Piano Festival in St. Petersburg, Russia, who has replaced Idith Zvi. 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:
- Master classes taught by PYPA Faculty members Ching-Yun Hu, Ursula Oppens, Mira Yevtich, and Gary Graffman
- 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
- The opportunity to participate in the Philadelphia International Piano Competition
Ching-Yun shares her enthusiasm for this program. She said recently, "We are extremely proud of reaching this exciting landmark 5th Anniversary for PYPA. We have worked with many stellar students who have participated throughout these years. We are honored to have Gary Graffman, Ursula Oppens and Mira Yevtich joining us this summer. The unique aspect of PYPA is the focused attention each student receives in a concentrated period of eight days. At PYPA, every young artist concentrates 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 individualized training can lead to real progress or even genuine breakthroughs in performance."
Between Tuesday, August 8 and Tuesday, August 15, 2017, there are numerous performances in the 240-seat Field Concert Hall at Curtis Institute. Open to the public, there are young artist concerts, master classes, recitals by PYPA faculty and a chamber music concert. 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 $10. The prices for each of the events are the same, unless otherwise noted.
Tuesday, August 8, 7:30 pm
Ching-Yun Hu Piano Recital
Program: Bach/Rachmaninoff Recital
Wednesday, August 9, 3:30 pm
Gary Graffman Masterclass ($10)
Thursday, August 10, 7:30 pm
Young Artist Concert (free - reserve in advance)
Friday, August 11, 7:30 pm
Young Artist Concert (free - reserve in advance)
Saturday, August 12, 10 am-4 pm
Philadelphia International Piano Competition (Preliminary Round)
*free event
Saturday, August 12, 7:30 pm
Chamber Music Concert
Program: Schubertiade - Schubert
Sunday, August 13, 4 pm
Ursula Oppens Piano Recital
Program: Stravinsky, Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, Carter, Coriglian, Nancarrow
Sunday, August 13, 7:30 pm
Philadelphia International Piano Competition (Final Round)
*free event
Tuesday, August 15, 7:30 pm
Philadelphia International Piano Competition: Winners' Concert and Reception
For more information and for tickets, visit www.pypa.info.
About Ching-Yun Hu: Distinguished Taiwanese concert pianist Ching-Yun Hu is the artistic director of both the Yun-Hsiang International Music Festival in Taipei and Philadelphia Young Pianists' Academy. After winning top prizes at the Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition in Tel Aviv and Concert Artists Guild International Competition in New York City, her career has taken her to prestigious concert halls and music festivals across the globe on five continents. Considered one of the most important concert pianists from her native Taiwan, she has received honorary recognitions from the Taiwanese Cultural Committee and Ministry and the Golden Melody Awards. Besides her performing activities, she also serves on the faculty at the Esther Boyer College of Music at the Temple University in Philadelphia.
About Ursula Oppens: A four-time Grammy nominee, Ursula Oppens has performed with many of the world's major orchestras, including the New York and Los Angeles philharmonics, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the American Composers Orchestra and the orchestras of Chicago, Cleveland and San Francisco. Abroad, she has appeared with such ensembles as the Berlin Symphony, Orchetra de la Suisse Romande, the Deutsche Symphonie and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Oppens is an avid chamber musician and has performed with the Arditti, Juilliard and Pacifica quartets, among others. Over the years, she has premiered works by many leading composers.
About Gary Graffman: The former President of Curtis Institute of Music, Gary Graffman is world renowned. He has numerous recordings with the orchestras of New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Cleveland, and Chicago under such conductors as Bernstein, Ormandy, Szell, and Mehta. He has performed concertos by the most highly respected composers in history -- Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev, Brahms, Chopin, and Beethoven. Despite a hand injury in 1979, he continues to have an active performing career. After studying at Curtis Institute of Music beginning in 1936 and graduating ten years later, he returned in 1986 and served as director until May 2006, and then president from 1995 to 2006.
About Mira Yevtich: A co-founder of the Mariinsky International Piano Festival in St. Petersburg, Russia, Mira Yevtich has been playing Piano since she was three years old. She has performed numerous International concert engagements followed with performances in France, Austria, England, Italy, Russia and Australia with internationally renowned conductors Valery Gergiev, Evgeny Svetlanov, Alexander Anissimov, Yuri Bashmet, Gerg Rat, Takeshi Naito and others. In 1980 she was awarded a Doctorate in Piano Performance at Moscow State Conservatory Tchaikovsky and the Gnesin Academy of Music. In addition to a prolific performance and recording schedule, Yevtich is passionately involved in the development and promotion of young musical talent.
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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