API Summer Festival 2024
June 2 - 8 | Phoenix, Arizona

The Art of Listening

For updates and the latest info, click here.

Our 8th Summer Festival will once again be a valuable and inspiring event for young pianists, teachers and anyone admiring piano music. We look forward to welcoming you! Please read this page carefully, as it provides essential information about the festival, including the program, our esteemed faculty and the registration process, as well as volunteer and auditor opportunities.

As is customary, our 2024 Summer Festival will open with a Faculty Artist Recital featuring inspiring performances by our internationally acclaimed faculty. Participants will then engage in a week of enriching master classes and workshops on a variety of topics helpful to emerging pianists, including performance practice, theory, sight-reading, improvisation, and more. The festival will close with a celebration of talent and artistry in the Student Artist Showcase Recital.

In addition to our Summer Festival programming, the Arizona Piano Institute will again offer our unique forum for teachers of piano, exploring creative approaches to piano pedagogy. This API Teacher Forum will be led by Eugene Pridonoff, Professor Emeritus of the College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati.

This year the API Summer Festival will again be co-sponsored by the Phoenix College Music Program. Phoenix College is a community college centrally located at Thomas and 11th Ave, in Phoenix, Arizona. It is a charming campus, first constructed in 1920, that offers an intimate and delightful mix of historic and contemporary facilities. Located at the north end of the Encanto district, Phoenix College is easy to drive to, with abundant parking close to where the Summer Festival will be held.

The Arizona Piano Institute is very appreciative of the support provided by our generous donors.

Pianos for this year’s Summer Festival will be graciously provided by Phoenix College.

To read more about past editions of the API Summer Festival, use the links in the Summer Festival section of the main navigation menu.

Aviram Reichert, a Steinway artist, studied at the Rubin Academy of Music, Tel Aviv with Professor Arie Vardi. He has performed with major orchestras around the world and is a frequent soloist with the leading orchestras in his native country Israel. He won the bronze medal at the 10th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 1997 as well as several major competitions in countries such as Japan, Korea, France and Germany. In addition to his busy performing career, Reichert is a sought-after teacher who is frequently invited to conduct master-classes in Japan, Korea, South Africa, Israel and the United States. From 2001-2008 he held the positions of Associate Professor of Piano and Artist-in-Residence at Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids, MI. He is currently Associate Professor of Piano at Seoul National University, College of Music.

Elisabeth Pridonoff is internationally known as a pianist and pedagogue and for over three decades was on the faculty of the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music. Her students have won many prestigious awards and hold positions at institutions world-wide. Professor Pridonoff is a Steinway artist. She continues to teach at the Brevard Music Festival and now serves as Co-Artistic Director of the International Institute for the Advanced Study of Piano Performance (IIASPP), LLC.

Eckart Sellheim and Dian Baker have combined their years of artistic experiences into the perfect medium – the piano duo. Since 1998 they have concertized throughout the US and Europe. The Duo was invited to perform a recital on Clara Schumann’s 1827 fortepiano at the Schumannhaus in Zwickau, Germany. Professor Sellheim maintains an active performance schedule, having made concert tours in the USA, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East, Africa, and throughout Europe. Internationally acclaimed pianist Dian Baker has toured both as soloist and chamber music collaborator in 30 countries on four continents.

Please note: Currently, all spots at the festival are booked. However, you can still register as usual and be placed on the waitlist. Should any spots open up due to cancellations, you may still be able to participate. Register for the waitlist before April 15 to avoid paying the higher late registration fee.

Registration for the API Summer Festival 2024 is open to pianists 21 years of age and under who are able to perform at an Arizona Study Program level 5 or higher. An example of level 5 repertoire would be a movement of a Clementi sonatina. Registration requirements for Summer Festival 2024 include several components:

• completing and submitting the Registration Form, including:
  • providing student and teacher information
  • identifying the student’s repertoire

• uploading the required YouTube videos

• completing and submitting three release forms

• paying the tuition

Please note that the registration form, the release forms, and payment are all due at the time of registration.

Registration starts on January 15, 2024 and will close when our 36 student capacity is reached. If applications exceed this number, the remaining applicants will be put on a waitlist.

STUDENT AND TEACHER INFORMATION

To register, please complete the Registration Form to enroll in Summer Festival 2024. You will be asked to provide information that will help API to share important information with you and to identify you at the Festival.

REPERTOIRE

Each student shall prepare two or more contrasting solo piano works from memory. The performance level should be an Arizona Study Program, level 5 and above. Please provide the repertoire information on the registration form.

In addition, each student will fully prepare one piano ensemble piece. This year, we are taking a slightly different approach for the ensemble pieces. On the registration form, students do not have to specify an ensemble piece. Instead, they indicate their preference for either 1) four-hands piano, 2) vocal accompaniment, or 3) flute accompaniment. API will select the ensemble piece for each student based on their preference and the video recording they provide.

YOUTUBE VIDEOS

Each student is asked to provide links to YouTube videos of two or more recent performances. These videos are used to determine the level and appropriate placement in solo and ensemble master classes. For more information about submitting YouTube videos, click here.

RELEASE FORMS

The following forms have to be filled out for each student as part of the registration process:

• Liability Release Form

• Medical Release Form

• Media Release Form

Please fill in and submit these forms before May 1st. The student will not be able to participate in the Summer Festival unless these forms have been filled out and submitted. If you submit the forms after May 1st, you run the risk of losing your spot in the Festival or paying a Late Registration fee. The three forms can be found on this page.

TUITION

Please pay the tuition when you submit the registration form. To pay the tuition, click the button underneath the Registration Form. For the 2024 Summer Festival, the rates are as follows:

• Early Registration, starting January 15, 2024: $575 individual / $535 family rate*

• Regular Registration, starting February 16, 2024: $650 individual / $600 family rate*

* Family rate is applicable for two or more enrollees per household.

Please note:
- The API Summer Festival 2024 tuition does not include lodging or meals. Students attending from outside the Phoenix-metro area are responsible for their own lodging, food and travel. Students attending from outside the Phoenix-metro area who are under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian when not in attendance at the festival event.

- Teachers of registered students and volunteers receive free auditor passes for any day. For more information, click here.

Anyone may be an auditor and listen in on any workshop, masterclass, or recital in the API Summer Festival, with the exception of the API Teachers Forum. We heartily welcome you and we appreciate your support. Your presence enlivens the atmosphere, and the students are very grateful for your attendance as their appreciative audience. For more information about auditing, click here.

Auditor passes are available in our online store. Teachers of registered students and volunteers receive free auditor passes for any day.

• Auditor Passes: $30/day or $100/week

If your teacher or parent is interested in attending the Summer Festival as an auditor or as a volunteer, please visit our Become a Volunteer webpage to learn more. You may also reach us at info@azpianoinstitute.org. You may also indicate your interest on the Registration Form. The success of the Summer Festival has always been a reflection of the wonderful volunteers that have contributed their time to this event!

Support API

Become a Friend of API and make enriching arts education possible for young students. Consider for instance donating money towards a scholarship to fund the Summer Festival registration fee for low-income students. API is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. All gifts are tax deductible and we would love to hear from you.

We welcome comments and questions. You can contact us at info@azpianoinstitute.org and an API Board member will get back to you shortly.

We look forward to seeing you at API Summer Festival 2024!

The Arizona Piano Institute fosters enriching solo and collaborative experiences for young musicians and educators in Arizona through various piano-focused musical interactions with renowned performing artists and pedagogues.