BETHEL — Music without Borders International Piano Festival returns for its 14th season on the Gould Academy campus in Bethel, July 10-30. Forced to pause local activities for two seasons during the pandemic, Artistic Director Tamara Poddubnaya will again welcome young pianists from the U.S., Canada, and Europe for this period of intensive piano study and frequent free public performances.

The first public recitals will be held on Tuesday and Wednesday, July 12 and 13, then every Tuesday and Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, continuing through the closing program on Saturday, July 30. All recitals will begin at 7:30 p.m. Unless otherwise announced, recitals will be held in air-conditioned Trustees Auditorium of the McLaughlin Science Center on the Gould campus. Admission is free. Reservations are not necessary, but seating is limited. Audience members are strongly encouraged to be fully vaccinated and boosted, appropriate for age and risk, and if at higher risk, to wear masks. Additional special programs will be announced during the regular evening programs and on-line at www.musicwoborders.com.

Festival Artistic Director Tamara Poddubnaya is a distinguished diplomate of the undergraduate and doctoral programs of the Rimsky-Korsakov State Conservatory in St. Petersburg and has performed to great acclaim in Europe and the United States. Much sought after as a master teacher, as well as juror at international piano competitions, she has resumed a busy schedule, teaching and performing in Europe and the United States, where she is Professor and Head of the Piano Department at the Long Island Conservatory, Albertson, N.Y.

Festival participants represent a truly international group. This season, they hail from Russia, Turkey, Sweden, the Netherlands, Canada, and the United States. Many of them are destined for careers as concert artists and teachers and have studied piano since childhood. Participants include Prof. Poddubnaya’s students and others who have met her at master classes and competitions in the U.S. and in Europe, or have been recommended to her by their teachers. This season, three of the participants are students of Veselin Ninov, himself a veteran of earlier Festivals.

A unique feature of the Music without Borders festival is that all students have a daily lesson with Prof. Poddubnaya and a personal practice piano at which they spend many hours each day. They perform several times each week during public concerts, and advanced students present a solo recital. At the end of their time in Bethel, students will perform from memory repertoire which they will have begun to study only after arriving on campus.

For a list of past seasons’ participants, facts about the festival’s history and the venue, and the latest news, including occasional changes in recital locations and times, go to the website www.musicwoborders.com.

 

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