Fourteen pre-collegiate student pianists in grades 7-12 from the United States, China and Italy, will perform for the 12th Annual Gala Concert at Severance Hall’s Reinberger Chamber Hall in Cleveland on Sunday, June 18.

These students are members of the 2017 Piano Institute at Kent State and will participate in a 10-day course including one-on-one lessons, master classes and studies in preparation for the gala concert.

Instructors of the institute include Donna Lee, professor and coordination of the Piano Division, and Jerry Wong, associate professor of piano. 

“Through lessons, master classes, seminars and performances, we look forward to witnessing significant musical growth in a very short amount of time,” Wong said. “Each year, the students thrive in this environment, form lasting relationships and celebrate in a final gala concert at Cleveland’s Reinberger Chamber Hall — located in beautiful Severance Hall.”

The Piano Institute is a high-intensity course intended for pre-collegiate pianists to sight-read, develop new techniques, practice, audition and prepare for competition.

This year will be memorable, Wong said, because the critically acclaimed Anderson Roe piano duo will perform on Friday, June 16 at 7:30 p.m.

Activities for the institution start Saturday and continue through June 18.

“Students will leave with a renewed commitment to their studies, fresh ideas regarding subtlety and nuance in forming an individual musical interpretation and a feeling for college life at Kent State University,” Wong said.

Ray Padilla is the academics reporter, contact him at [email protected].