Piano

The 27th Hilton Head International Piano Competition will showcase the talents of 20 performers representing 10 countries from March 10th-17th — and for the first time, each will play a newly commissioned piece.

With its 22nd season underway, the Southeastern Piano Festival is once again drawing a range of acclaimed performers and up-and-coming teenage competitors to the University of South Carolina for a week of concerts, master classes, and other events.

Ahead of her appearance with the South Carolina Philharmonic on Saturday for a concert marking the centennial of Rhapsody in Blue, Downes reflects on the scope and legacy of George Gershwin's most iconic work.

The keyboard instrument’s collaborative side is set to be showcased in a range of performances at this year’s BravoPiano! Festival, presented by the Hilton Head International Piano Competition.

The 22-year-old pianist and Honens prizewinner is back in South Carolina, excited for the chance to take on two formidable piano concertos in a single program.

"Let go, in some ways, of the idea of perfection," the pianist says. "Make the thing in front of you the best it can be."

"She was performing for kings and queens internationally," Dr. Sarah Masterson says of 20th century American pianist and composer. "But in the U.S., she had trouble booking gigs outside of churches and auditoriums—African American sororities would host events—that sort of thing."

“It really is staggering," new Hilton Head International Piano Competition Director Steve Shaiman says of the competitors' talent, "and it makes me grateful that I’m not a judge.”

Wonder, environmentalism, and a deep appreciation of the expressive and technical possibilities of the piano shape the South Carolina composer's three-part series, receiving its full premiere tonight in Columbia.

Festival Artistic Directors Marina Lomazov and Joseph Rackers speak on the growth of the SEPF since its inaugural year, and take a look at how it serves as both a showcase for top talents and a forge of friendships.