The Music Without Borders International Piano Festival, which takes place annually at Gould Academy, celebrated its 20th anniversary in July. Many former students returned to mark the occasion — and visited with local residents who had made a tradition of hosting them for dinner during their stay.

The festival was born in 2007 when professor Tamara Poddubnaya, Ph.D., an internationally known pianist and head of the piano department at the Long Island Conservatory of Music, visited Bethel and discovered Gould, an “All-Steinway School” (a term denoting a school that exclusively uses pianos designed by Steinway & Sons).

Gould alumnus Don Christie was key in helping to make the festival happen.

“I met Tamara in June 2006, during the Portland Conservatory’s weeklong piano festival to which she brought some of her conservatory students,” he said. “In May 2007 I received a call from Tamara, asking if it might be possible to bring her festival to Gould.

“Because a mutual friend had told her about Gould’s new pianos and its practice and performance facilities — and that I had ‘something to do with Gould’ — she made the call to me,”  he said.

Several Gould staff helped make arrangements on relatively short notice, said Christie. In late June 2007, Poddubnaya and a few students from Maine and New Hampshire, as well as several conservatory students mostly from Europe, came to Bethel to learn and practice their skills.

“The first season of Music without Borders International Piano Festival at Gould Academy was off and humming,” Christie said.

The festival is generally composed of young pianists between the ages of 10 and 20.

SPECIAL DISHES

While the students stayed on the Gould campus for the month-long festival, a tradition developed in which local residents took turns hosting students for dinner on off-nights from performing for the public at Gould.

Often, each host chose a signature dish to make each year.

One of the hosts was Carlie Casey. “Mine was fish tacos,” he said, followed by homemade pie.

Another served lobster, said Casey, and the late Stan Howe of the Bethel Historical Society had the students over for strawberry shortcake and ice cream.

The locals might also invite them for an afternoon at a lakeside camp or kayaking outing, Casey said.

Another hostess was Mary Haberman. Her dish was vegetable lasagna. In mid-July, two former students, Mark Demidovich, originally from Russia, and Bulgarian native Veselin “Vesko” Ninov, here for the 20th observance, stopped by Haberman’s house for a visit and a personal piano performance.

Now in her late 90s, Haberman said her vegetable lasagna dish was chosen when she learned one of the students did not eat meat, and she continued to offer it in subsequent years.

As the guests enjoyed refreshments at the recent visit, Demidovich and Ninov played piano — and so did Ninov’s 6-year-old daughter, Nia. Following her piece, Nia’s 8-year-old brother, Antonio, played the violin.

Demidovich said that getting to know the musicians and Bethel’s community was a highlight.

“These connections have helped tremendously in forming lasting friendships and a strong support network that extends far beyond the festival,” he said. “I am truly grateful for the warm hospitality and the inspiring environment this town provides.”

He said participating in the Music Without Borders Festival was helpful in developing his career.

“The level of talent that (Poddubnaya) brings to the festival is so high, and it encourages all participants to work even harder towards their goals,” Demidovich said. “It has provided me with invaluable experience and opportunities to grow as a musician.”

Christie said that Demidovich and Ninov, like many of the participants during the first 10 or 12 years, were Poddubnaya’s students at Long Island Conservatory.

“Other participants were promising young pianists that (Poddubnaya) had identified during her frequent trips abroad, when she would give recitals, hold master classes, and serve as a judge, often head judge, at music competitions,” he said. “That accounts for the rich international mix of students over the now-decades, whose artistry has been appreciated by an ever-growing band of local fans, including those wonderful ‘summer people.'”  

For more on the festival, go to musicwoborders.com.

Alison Aloisio is a freelance writer.