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Hitting the right chords

Highlights from the ninth annual Mimir Chamber Music Festival and PianoTexas

Hitting the right chords

Highlights from the ninth annual Mimir Chamber Music Festival and PianoTexas

Mimir delights

Scores of music lovers packed the house for the ninth annual Mimir Chamber Music Festival. More than 1,700 spectators showed up for five nights of performances in July on the TCU campus.

Joining the performers and faculty this season was violist Che-Yen Chen, winner of the 2003 William Primrose Viola Competition and President Prize of the 2003 Lionel Tertis Viola Competition. Other artists/faculty members hailed from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra and Cleveland Institute of Music, and, of course, School of Music Professor and Van Cliburn International Piano Competition Gold Medalist Jose Feghali.

Mimir is more than the performances. It’s also a training ground for the artists of tomorrow. Each year, a select group of students receives intense coaching, attends master classes on solo and orchestral repertoire and conducts public performances.

PianoTexas

You could say piano is TCU’s forte. Each summer, world-class pianists and a collection of talented students, amateurs and experienced teachers gather here for the PianoTexas International Academy and Festival (formerly TCU/Cliburn Piano Institute).

The three-week festival, held in June, featured master classes taught by distinguished guest artists, recitals by the artists and a chance for the students and amateurs to perform with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra.

One of the attractions is the concerto competition. This year’s amateur winner was Michael Brounoff, an administrative law judge from New York. The young artists winners were Helen Cha, 21, of Hong Kong and Zhang Cheng, 16, of China.