International pianists perform at CRMC

By DONNA LUKIW

	TRR photo by Donna Lukiw Su Jung Sun, 23, from Korea, plays Scarlatti: Sonata and Yuki Kuramoto’s “Romance” at Catskill Regional Medical Center for doctors and patients. (Click for larger image)

HARRIS, NY — A diverse group of piano students from the 2003 Shandelee Music Festival performed at Catskill Regional Medical Center (CRMC) for patients, doctors and onlookers on Wednesday, August 6.

“We give back to the community, which is very important to us,” Shandelee spokesperson Barbara Konvalin, said.

Music prodigies Monica Chung, Tsveta Dabova, Jordan Flournoy, Milica Jelaca-Jovanovic, Su Jung Sun and Minghua Zhu performed piano solos including Liszt, Rachmaninoff, and Scarlatti.

Prestigious music schools receive applications from Shandelee and distribute them to students who wish to study under eminent musicians like Earl Wild and Lana Ivanov.

Ivanov has been the artistic director and a faculty member of the Shandelee Music Festival since 1994. She won first prize at the Summit Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition and has studied with renowned pianist Zoltan Kocsis at the International Bartok Festival in Hungary.

Wild has performed for presidents of the United States and with major symphony orchestras all over the world.

The festival offers the advanced pianists four practice cottages, equipped with new Steinway grand pianos, where they can practice privately. Also on the premises is the Sunset Concert Pavilion, which seats 200 people for concerts featuring festival artists.

Christopher Kennedy, a resident keyboard technician at the Shandelee Music Festival, instructs students on piano maintenance and tuning. They receive hands-on instruction from not only a piano technician but a pianist and composer as well.

Those students who are interested in joining this group of young talented musicians are required to send in either VHS or audiotapes or audition in New York City. This year, only 11 students were welcomed in the program due to a highly selective process. For two weeks, the international artists have a unique yet well-deserved opportunity to play and partake in the festival musical series.

The International Artists of Shandelee will perform on Thursday, August 14 at 8:00 p.m. and Saturday, August 16 at 3:00 p.m. in the Sunset Concert Pavilion on J. Young Road in Livingston Manor.

For more information call 845/439-3277 or visit shandelee.org.