The Chicago College of Performing Arts was delighted to host the International Piano Competition of Orléans. Roosevelt was selected as a host site for the first phase of the competition, distinguishing the University as the sole competitive site in North America. Roosevelt’s Piano Program Director, Dr. Winston Choi, was the 2002 laureate of the competition, and will serve as a jury member during the second phase of the competition. Of the prominent event, Dr. Choi said, “this competition is one of the most prestigious of its kind, with a distinct vision to showcase the 20th and 21st century repertoire to contemporary classical music audiences.” He continued by saying, “the choice to highlight more recent works is central to the mission of ‘Orléans,’ as the competition strives to bring classical music to contemporary audiences while celebrating innovation from its competitors.” To celebrate the occasion, the music conservatory hosted a Spring PianoFest, featuring performances from students, faculty and guest musicians. The five-day long event showcased the talents of the Roosevelt community inside the historic venue, Ganz Hall, from March 15 to 18, 2024.
The first of the events was entitled, “The Augmented Piano,” which was a guest lecture and recital. Renowned pianists and previous Orléans laureates Wilhem Latchoumia and Maroussia Genet each used pianos and laptops to deliver their lectures. Contemporary piano composition, genre fusing and the use of technology were prominent themes throughout the night. Latchoumia and Genet both served as jury members for the competition as well. The faculty recital was performed the following evening, featuring performances by Adam Neiman and Michal Drewnowski. Neiman opened the event by playing his own composition as well as the work of Maurice Ravel. Drewnowski followed with performances of works by Alexandre Tansman, Frédéric Chopin and Ignacy Jan Paderewski. The proficiency of Roosevelt’s distinguished faculty members was well on display. From Saturday to Sunday, the piano competition took place, with the competitors regaling the jury members with their innovated performances. The winners of this round will progress to the second round in Orléans and Paris, France.[MD1]
The rousing weekend of music concluded on Monday. The day began with two PianoFest master classes. The first session was led by Latchoumia and Genet, while the following was led by Isabella Vasilotta, the artistic director of the piano competition. That evening, the final event was a performance featuring Roosevelt faculty and students. Professors Dr. Choi, Drewnowski and Kuang-Hao Huang were joined by students Hyeonho Lee, Shinae Lee and Kyungmin Yang. This is event featured, “Music Inspired by Korean Poetry,” with contemporary pieces that transcended medium.
This concluding event was co-presented by the organizations Vertias Musicae and Ebb and Flow Arts, and was a lovely capstone to the weekend. The International Piano Competition of Orléans and the accompanying PianoFest presented a unique opportunity. The Roosevelt community experienced revolutionary performances by the competition’s jury members. At the same time, the piano competition was able to host competitors in North America. This made the competition more accessible to musicians from around the world, thereby making it more diverse. Roosevelt was also the perfect home for the competition, given the university’s “Piano Improvement Project,” a recent initiative to acquire state of the art instruments. It was an unforgettable weekend made possible by the hard work of Roosevelt faculty, students, and staff. Be on the lookout for more exciting events presented by the Chicago College of Performing Arts.
