The Lee University International Piano Festival and Competition is a week-long celebration of the piano, offering rich opportunities for performance and unique experiences for participants to learn and grow. Lee University’s campus is a beautiful setting, boasting numerous performance venues, excellent practice and teaching facilities.
Pre-college and Collegiate students may choose to compete for $10,000 in cash awards, as well as generous scholarships for undergraduate and graduate studies at Lee University. The competition is optional. All students participate in masterclasses and intensive small-group lessons with renowned artists, round-table discussions on career skills and other topics, as well as lectures on piano literature, piano pedagogy, collaborative piano, and historical performance.
This will be the third consecutive year I get to tune for this event. It is always a fun time to watch the competitions and attend the concerts. Dr. Cahill Smith, one of the piano faculty, does a wonderful job as the Artistic Director.
The first year I tuned for this I got to work on a new Yamaha CFX. The second year I got to tune and voice a Steinway D for Ann Schein, a marvelous pianist and one of Rubinstein’s last students. I never know what intense piano issues I will face behind the scenes. Last year it was a broken hammer shank a few hours before the concert and I didn’t have the special WNG shanks. We’ll see what it is this year. It’s going to be fun!