Amateur pianists from across North America will compete at Richmond’s Gateway Theatre this Saturday for the seventh annual Pacific Youth Piano Festival Gala.
Hundreds of pianists took part in the Pacific Youth Piano Festivals in cities across North America, and the best 18 are now coming to Richmond to compete.
The 18 finalists will perform and compete for scholarships provided by local businesses and personal sponsors.
“(The students) have so much fun and they feel good because the purpose of this competition is to put those kids on a real stage so they have a feel of (…) how a real pianist feels like,” said Peggy Yip, vice-president of the Pacific International Youth Music Society, which hosts the festival.
“They compete in a very healthy environment, which is the most important thing.”
This year’s adjudicators are Vancouver-based pianists Saida Matyukov and Bogdan Dulu as well as Ryo Yanagitani, a concert artist from Washington, D.C.
Tickets are $20 on the Gateway Theatre website.
For more information about the festival and gala, visit PIYMS.org/.
