The Arizona Piano Institute's 11th Summer Festival

Full Transcript

Greg Kostraba: This is KBACH’s Heart of the Arts podcast, I’m Greg Kostraba. The Arizona Piano Institute presents its 11th Summer Festival May 31st through June 6th. Before the festival begins, the faculty of the API will present a free recital at Valley Presbyterian Church in Paradise Valley, Sunday, May 31st at 2:00 PM. Snezana Krstic is the founder of the Arizona Piano Institute and she's in the K-Bach studios. Welcome!

Snezana Krstic: Thank you so much.

Kostraba: Snezana, tell us why you founded the Arizona Piano Institute, when, and what was the impetus for it?

Krstic: As a young student back in Yugoslavia, a little bit after it fell apart, I was actually very much involved in visiting summer camps throughout my childhood and youth. I loved that experience, learning from great professors, from connecting with like-minded people. And after I moved here to the United States in 1999—26 years ago now—I thought that Phoenix doesn't have something of that caliber, so I thought that could be a good idea to start.

Kostraba: And it's been going on ever since, very successfully, with your festivals every year. The theme for this year's Summer Festival is called "Curiosity and Courage." Tell us a little more about that. How does that fit into piano playing and piano teaching?

Krstic: That name came from a quote from writer Elizabeth Shaffer, who says that creativity requires curiosity, risk, and the willingness to try something a little bold, a little unexpected. And that's exactly what music is. Playing the piano isn't just about pressing the right keys, it's about exploring, asking questions, and expressing something personal. Curiosity is what leads a student to look beyond the notes and ask, "What is this music really saying? What did this composer feel, and why was he inspired?" And courage is what allows them to take the next step: to shape the music in their own way, to perform, and to share something vulnerable with an audience.

Kostraba: So you have the curiosity to learn about the music, and then the courage to actually go on stage and play it.

Krstic: Exactly.

Kostraba: That's where the experience of performing comes into play. And I know as part of the week there are student performances. Tell us a little bit about what goes on over the course of the week for the API.

Krstic: Our festival week opens on Sunday, May 31st this year at 1:00 PM with student orientation. The orientation is followed by the faculty artist concert, featuring inspiring performances by our internationally acclaimed faculty. This year we have Steven Spooner, Aviram Reichert performing and teaching solo masterclasses. We have Diane Baker and Russell Ryan teaching ensemble masterclasses, and we have two amazing artists - violinist Daga Suchon and vocalist Jessica Elder - who will play and sing with our students during the festival.

Kostraba: Wonderful faculty as always. Tell us how many students you have this year and then how does the course of the week go for them during the festival?

Krstic: We usually have 36 students as a maximum number. This year it was stretched a little bit, so we accepted 41 students due to great demand. So, starting on Monday, June 1st, participating students will engage in a week of masterclasses and workshops on a variety of topics helpful to emerging pianists, including performance practice, theory, sight-reading, improvisation, Dalcroze, and more. At the end of the week, all students will perform the solo and ensemble repertoire they have worked on during the week in a fun and exciting event, which is the Student Artist Showcase Recital. This is where all students have a chance to show their artistry and newly improved skills. This recital is open to the public and we encourage family and friends to join us. It is a real treat to hear these wonderful talents play.

Kostraba: When is that student recital taking place?

Krstic: At the Phoenix College on Saturday, June 6th at 1:00 PM. It will be probably divided into two big recitals; probably each of them will be two hours long because we have that many wonderful students and wonderful pieces to be performed.

Kostraba: So you have the student recital open to the public on Saturday, and then the faculty recital open to the public on the 31st, as we were saying. Are there other events over the course of the festival that the general public can attend? Masterclasses or lessons or anything like that?

Krstic: Yes, of course. All our events are open to the public. Everyone can attend the faculty concert. You can become an auditor and there is a fee assigned to that, so you can register to be an auditor through our website, azpianoinstitute.org, at least 24 hours in advance so we'll plan. By becoming an auditor, you can sit and listen to all masterclasses, workshops, performances, lectures throughout the day and throughout the week. And I would like to invite also everyone in our music community to join us as a volunteer because we really depend on your help to create a safe and nurturing environment for our young students to feel encouraged.

Kostraba: I love that because people go to concerts all the time; you don't necessarily see anything that goes on before that. So this is a wonderful opportunity for people to kind of get behind the scenes to what musicians think about as they're preparing to be on stage.

Krstic: Exactly. That's the perfect way to have a front-row seat and witness the creative process and how young minds transform throughout the week and then hear them at the very end with the final product.

Kostraba: We didn't mention Phoenix College. That's where the whole festival takes place; that's where all the classes take place and all of the lessons and the masterclasses, right?

Krstic: Exactly. And this time I would like to really give a big thanks to Phoenix College and Music Department Chair Karl Schindler for hosting our festival for, I believe, the fourth year in a row and for supporting our program and our mission. I would like to invite everyone who listened to this program to join us, whether at the faculty concert or as a part of the festival audience, to experience this journey of curiosity and courage with us. You might just leave inspired to try something a little bold, a little unexpected in your own life as well.

Kostraba: Let's dig into this Sunday afternoon faculty artist concert for a minute. You've mentioned some of the terrific faculty members like Aviram Reichert and Steven Spooner, Diane Baker, Russell Ryan. Tell us, what's going to be on the program for that concert?

Krstic: It's a very special evening where our guest artists take the stage together. And we're still working on the program, finalizing, but I can share what we know for sure will be on the program. So Russell Ryan and Diane Baker, piano four hands, will play Brahms' Waltzes, Op. 39 for piano four hands, then an excerpt from Fauré's Dolly Suite, Op. 56. Professor Aviram Reichert will perform Schubert's Sonata in A minor. Then we'll have our violinist Daga Suchon and Diane Baker on the piano will play Brahms' Scherzo and Clara Schumann's Romance, Op. 22 No. 3. I believe last on our program will be Professor Steven Spooner. He will perform his compositions, Three Etudes, written in the style of Martha Argerich, Keith Jarrett, and Vladimir Horowitz.

Kostraba: That's quite a program, and I'm sure that Horowitz one is going to be quite virtuostic.

Krstic: I can imagine.

Kostraba: Snezana, thank you so much for your time.

Krstic: Thank you so much.

Kostraba: Snezana Krstic founded the Arizona Piano Institute, which presents its 11th Summer Festival May 31st through June 6th at Phoenix College. There's a free faculty artist recital to begin the festival, Sunday afternoon, May 31st at 2:00 at Valley Presbyterian Church in Paradise Valley. Information about the concert and the festival is at azpianoinstitute.org. For the K-BACH Heart of the Arts podcast, I’m Greg Kostraba.