A festival of piano
"The future of the young performers"
Every summer for the past 42 years, rising pianists have come to Fort Worth to learn and perform in PianoTexas
They’ve come from China, Spain, Russia, the United Kingdom, Taiwan.
A love for the piano brought them to TCU where they are learning and performing at PianoTexas. The festival runs through July 2 and showcases the skills of 120 students representing 27 countries. They were selected from a field of 370 artists.
Founded 42 years ago by Dr. Tamás Ungár, who still serves as executive director, PianoTexas offers three tracts: young artists, juniors and amateurs/teachers. All offer opportunities to learn and perform.
Young Artists is the longest program June 6 - 28. These artists, ranging in age from 14-26, have a wide range of experience. All have previously competed at a high level. Many of them are scholarship recipients and competition winners.
Vincent Pham, a young artist participating in PianoTexas 2023 (courtesy of PianoTexas).
Vincent Pham, a young artist participating in PianoTexas 2023 (courtesy of PianoTexas).
Vincent Pham, 14, has been playing the piano since he was four. He has won first place in several competitions including the Florida Federation of Music Clubs Concerto Competition (2017, 2018, 2019) and the final Florida State Music Teachers Association Concerto Competition (2019, 2022). He was invited to perform at Carnegie Recital Hall in 2016, 2017, and 2018. This is his second time participating in PianoTexas.
PianoTexas also has room for adults in the amateur and teacher division.
“We all need an outlet for being creative,” Ungár said.
During the first two weeks, they practice and perform together. Amateurs are people who have full-time jobs as physicians, CEOs, computer engineers and attorneys. But they share a common love and talent for playing piano.
Ting Ho, an amateur participating in PianoTexas 2023 (courtesy of PianoTexas).
Ting Ho, an amateur participating in PianoTexas 2023 (courtesy of PianoTexas).
Ting Ho is a dental receptionist and dental nurse from the United Kingdom. She began playing the piano at 17 and has since studied with many Royal academy of Music graduates. She currently studies with Qian Wu, an international concert pianist, and has taken masterclasses from Colin Stone, Idil Biret, Margaret Fingerhut, and others. She is a member of the London Piano Circle and regularly performs with the Chopin society.
Teachers come to the festival and academy to improve their teaching skills and interact with emerging artists. PianoTexas is the only place in the world where these amateurs play alongside teachers.
The juniors program, for artists under 18 years old, will begin June 20. Artists as young as 11 have traveled across the world to learn from faculty and perform. Many of them have been playing piano since the age of three, and almost all of them are competition winners.
Louis Li, a junior participating in PianoTexas 2023 (courtesy of PianoTexas).
Louis Li, a junior participating in PianoTexas 2023 (courtesy of PianoTexas).
One of the youngest juniors in PianoTexas is Lois Li, 11. He began piano lessons at eight years old. He has won local and international competitions including first place at the Tokyo International Youth Music Competition 2019 in Japan, the Purcell International Competition for Young Pianist 2019 in London, U.K., the Neapolitan Masters Competition Asia Edition 2020 in Malaysia and others. He also won the PianoTexas Concerto Competition in 2021.
Ungár and other professionals will teach masterclasses and guide the artists through the academy and festival. Over 105 faculty applied for high-level positions in PianoTexas; it is well known and highly respected within the profession. They prioritize lending their expertise to these artists because they believe it has an impact on their future.
“We give them a taste of what it’s like in the professional world,” said Ungár.
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