Topics: College of Fine Arts, Administrative

October 22, 2018

Robert Palmer sitting at a piano
Robert Palmer, Ball State's Ruth Weldy Mauzy and Mary Weldy Porter distinguished professor of music.

For the fourth consecutive year, Ball State will be one of five worldwide sites to host the preliminary round of the Hastings International Piano Concerto Competition.

On November 8-11, music lovers can enjoy performances by gifted young pianists hailing from throughout North America in the 600-seat critically-acclaimed Sursa Hall. Ball State joins London, England: Milan, Italy; Tokyo, Japan; and Wuhan, China as preliminary round sites for the competition. The top pianists from the BSU preliminary round will advance to Hastings, England, for the continuing rounds of the competition, from Feb. 21 to March 2, 2019. There, the six finalists will perform with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. The First prize winner of the competition receives £15,000, a performance with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra during the 2019-2020 season, and additional solo performance engagements.

During this year’s Ball State preliminary round, 42 pianists from throughout the United States and Canada will perform in Sursa Hall, said Robert Palmer, The Ruth Weldy Mauzy and Mary Weldy Porter Distinguished Professor of Music.

“These pianists coming to Ball State for the preliminary round are some of the best young musicians in the world,” Palmer said. “They have studied piano since a very young age and have been preparing for international competitions for years. Indeed, many of them have already been prizewinners in other national and international competitions. The caliber of the performers, the hours they put into practicing for these auditions — this is a one-of-a-kind event for them — and for the audience.”

The competition schedule will be announced in late October.

In addition, Roman Kosyakov, the 2018 winner of Hastings International, will perform a solo piano recital at on November 8 at 7:30 p.m. in Sursa Hall.

Admission for Hastings International competition at Ball State is free and open to the public. Admission to Kosyakov’s concert is $35 for the general public and $10 for Ball State students (with ID). For tickets, call Emens Auditorium at 765-285-1539 or 877-99-EMENS or Ticketmaster at 800-745-3000.