Piano Festival by the River, a summer retreat for pianists, piano students, and piano teachers, will be held at St. Mary’s College of Maryland from July 6-9. Previously known as Piano Fest, this annual event offers four days of music, exploration, and community for pianists of a broad range of abilities, ages, and interests. Opportunities for this year’s participants include masterclasses, lessons, and performances.
Piano Festival by the River has become a much-anticipated annual event. This year’s festival will be led by pianists Beverly Babcock, Brian Ganz, and Eliza Garth. For more information, including specific daily scheduling, please visit www.smcm.edu/music/pianofestival2012.html or contact Eliza Garth, director of the festival, at ehgarth@smcm.edu.
The public is invited, free of charge, to the following performances during Piano Festival by the River, as well as daily masterclasses at 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. on July 7-8 and at 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. on July 9:
- Saturday, July 7: Beverly Babcock performs Bach, Beethoven, Debussy, Chopin at 7 p.m.
- Sunday, July 8: Eliza Garth, “Sound, Silence, Color: Celebrating the Debussy Sesquicentennial and the Cage Centennial” at 7 p.m.
- Monday, July 9: Brian Ganz, “The Poet Sings: On Poetry, Music, Alchemy and Chopin’s Miniatures” at 1 p.m.
- Monday, July 9: Participants’ recital at 5:30 p.m.
All performances take place in Auerbach Auditorium of St. Mary’s Hall on the St. Mary’s College of Maryland campus.
St. Mary’s College of Maryland, designated the Maryland state honors college in 1992, is ranked one of the best public liberal arts schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. More than 2,000 students attend the college, nestled on the St. Mary’s River in Southern Maryland.
