The Lee University School of Music will present its 14th Annual International Piano Festival and Competition on June 24-30.

The event began in 2005 as a competition for high school students and was expanded in 2011 to include opportunities for participants to study with internationally-acclaimed artists. The public also gets a chance to witness brilliant performances.

The competition is divided into two levels: pre-college and college. Participants are competing for cash awards totaling $10,000, as well as scholarships for undergraduate and graduate studies at the university. The competition itself is optional, and all students participate in masterclasses and intensive small-group lessons.

This year’s festival will welcome 28 outstanding young pianists, ranging in age from 13-24, from across the United States, New Zealand, Australia, and Taiwan.

Highly-praised performers and teachers Rae De Lisle, Pei-Chun Liao, Dr. Alex McDonald, and Ann Schein are the guest artists for this year’s festival, along with Lee faculty Dr. Joong Han (Jonathan) Jung, Dr. ChoEun Lee, Dr. Cahill Smith, and Dr. Phillip Thomas. Smith and Thomas will serve as artistic director and executive director of the festival, respectively.

“Again this year, we are pleased to welcome a record number of participants to the Festival,” said Thomas. “It is an excellent opportunity for members of the greater Cleveland/Chattanooga community to hear wonderful piano music played by world class artists and aspiring, talented students.”

Guest and faculty artists will present recitals, which are free and open to the public. Faculty artists will present the opening recital on Sunday, June 24, at 5:30 p.m. in Squires Recital Hall, located in the Humanities Center (1250 Parker St. NE).

Schein will play the first of two recitals by guest artists on Monday, June 25, in the Lee Chapel (1020 N. Ocoee St.). McDonald and Liao will perform on Wednesday, June 27, in Squires Hall. Both recitals begin at 7 pm.

De Lisle, associate professor of piano at the University of Auckland (New Zealand), serves as the artistic director of the Wallace International Piano Festival. De Lisle’s teaching has produced many young pianists who have gone on to be prize winners in competitions such as the Bradshaw Buono Competition, the Lev Vlassenko Piano Competition, and the Sydney International Piano Competition. In 2011, she received the Excellence in Teaching Award from the University of Auckland and in 1990, she received the Mobile Award for the best classical recording for radio and television.

Liao, assistant professor of Piano at University of Taipei (Taiwan), performs internationally as a concerto soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician. She has made appearances at prestigious venues around the world including her United Kingdom debut at Birmingham Symphony Hall, Manchester Peel Hall, and Salle Cortot. Liao is a prize winner of numerous competitions, including the Kellaway Piano Recital Competition, the Taipei Chopin International Competition, and the Taiwan Young Artist Competition. She was selected as Young Star of National Concert Hall in 2009.

McDonald is an American concert artist and has soloed with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, the Louisiana Philharmonic, the Orquesta Sinfonica del Estado de Mexico, and the Utah Symphony Orchestra, among others. He has performed across the United States, as well as Canada, Israel, Japan, Mexico, and South Korea. He was also a featured performer on PBS. McDonald currently serves at Texas Woman’s University and has taught previously at Richard College and the Julliard School.

Schein has been a concert artist since her 1957 debut in Mexico City. Since then she has performed thousands of concerts across every continent and played with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, and the Philadelphia Orchestra, among others. During the Kennedy Administration, Schein performed at the White House. “She drew the loveliest sound from the White House piano I have heard,” wrote the famed critic Paul Hume in the Washington Post. Schein has also been regarded as one of the premiere Chopin pianists of our time.

Jung joined the faculty of Lee’s School of Music as an assistant professor of piano in the fall of 2017. In addition to teaching, Jung performs regularly across the U.S. He has performed with the Eastman Philharmonic Orchestra and Korean Philharmonic Orchestra of New Zealand. As a composer, Jung’s original pieces have been performed in Brevard Music Center, Carnegie Hall, and Hatch Recital Hall. He has received awards in the Christchurch National Piano Concerto Competition, Eastman Concerto Competition, and Kapiti Coast National Piano Competition.

An assistant professor of collaborative piano and vocal coaching, Lee joined the university’s School of Music faculty in 2017. She has extensive collaborative experiences in vocal and chamber music repertoires and has given numerous performances in Australia, Austria, Italy, Korea, New Zealand, and the U.S., and in major venues including Carnegie Hall in New York City, Harris Concert Hall in Aspen Music Festival, and Ozawa Hall in Tanglewood Music Center. Lee has been named a recipient of the Grace B. Jackson Prize. In the summers of 2016 and 2017, she was invited to the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria, and will return this year.

Smith, assistant professor of piano, joined Lee’s faculty in 2014. He began playing at age 10, and by 16, he made his orchestral debut with a local orchestra. In the U.S. and abroad, Smith has performed recitals in major venues including four programs at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, Kilbourn Hall, and the PolyTheater in Chongqing, China. His live and studio recordings have been broadcast on WQXR, New York’s Classical Music Radio Station and WSMC, Chattanooga Public Radio. Smith has been featured as a concerto soloist with the National Ukranian Symphony Orchestra, the Mongolian Symphony Orchestra, the Eastman Philharmonia, the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, the Chattanooga Symphony, and others.

Thomas, distinguished professor of music and chairperson of Lee’s musicianship studies department, joined Lee’s faculty in 1977. He has served as chair for the Festival since it began. Previously, Thomas had a long tenure as keyboardist for the Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra, appearing with them as harpsichord soloist on two occasions. He has studied piano, music history, and harpsichord at some of the world’s finest institutions and has also served as adjudicator for a variety of competitions on the local, regional, and international levels.

“We are truly humbled to host a gathering of this caliber here at Lee University,” said Smith. “This is the kind of experience that I dreamed of as a student, so it is a joy to serve as Artistic Director. The performances by our guest artists are sure to be inspiring and enriching for our community.”

For more information on the Lee University International Piano Festival and Competition, contact the Department of Musicianship Studies at 423-614-8264, [email protected] or visit Festival.