Music without Borders Artistic Director Tamara Poddubnaya and two of her conservatory students will appear on the Gould Academy campus for an Encore Recital this Saturday, Jan. 17, 2015. The piano concert is free and open to the public and begins at 7:30 p.m. in Trustees Auditorium of McLaughlin Science Center.

Ilya Ishchenko, a veteran of two Festival seasons and now studying with Prof. Poddubnaya at the Long Island Conservatory, will be joined by 25-year-old Vladimir Tyagunov in presenting a program of works by Chopin, Schubert, Liszt, Mendelssohn, Rachmaninov and Gershwin. Earlier on Saturday, Tamara Poddubnaya will be working with pianist Gorsev Tepe, a Gould freshman whom she first met several years ago at a competition in Europe.

Already a prize-winner in competitions in Europe and the United States, Ilya Ishchenko began his piano career at the age of 8 and participated in two Bethel festivals while a still student at the Buzuluk (Russia) Music College. Following graduation, he returned to the United States to continue his piano studies with Tamara Poddubnaya. Vladimir Tyagunov is a graduate of both undergraduate and master’s degree programs at the Chelyabinsk State Academy of Culture and Arts and has performed in solo and chamber recitals in several European countries and in the United States, where he now studies for his Artist Diploma with Prof. Poddubnaya.

Soon to hold its ninth summer season at Gould, the four-week Music without Borders piano festival brings together some of the most promising young artists from Europe and the United States for intensive study with Prof. Poddubnaya, taking advantage of the school’s exceptional practice and performance facilities and the warm welcome of Bethel-area residents.