By Mark Ambrogi
To Tatyana Komarova, there are many positives to having an international piano competition in Carmel.
“My own opinion is Carmel is really trying to promote all the arts but overall in the Midwest, we are pretty low on the arts,” said Komarova, a piano teacher. “We are bigger on sports. To us, it’s very important to promote the arts, not only piano playing but we’re going deeper than that. We want to educate our kids about music and understanding and feeling.”
The third annual Carmel Klavier International Piano Competition, which was previously called Carmel Debut, will be held June 22-26 at the Center for the Performing Arts. The awards ceremony will be at 6:30 p.m. June 26, followed by the Winners’ Concert at 7:30 p.m. There will be 130 contestants ages 5-18, representing 14 states and several nations.
Komarova said Carmel Klavier asked participants to supply comments on what the piano means to them.
“We want them to not only know the notes. We want them to put their soul and heart into playing,” Komarova said. “In the higher level competitions, that’s what the judges are judging.”
There will be international judges.
“(The judges) were saying this is the best they’ve ever seen, even better than some European competitions because how we organized it and the beautiful facility (the Palladium),” Komarova said.
Chendi Liu, who will be a freshman at Carmel High School in August, won the Grand Prize in intermediate level at the 2015 competition.
“Music has made all the difference in my life,” Liu said. “Music makes me smile and laugh when I’m happy. Music is a relief when I’m mad. Music clears my mind of confusion. Music is my comfort when I’m sad.”
Aksedep Adilet-Sultan, a Carmel 9-year-old, said. “The look, the touch, the feel and the heart of it told me that piano was the door to music. The joy sprang through my heart and soared throughout my entire body. The majestic grace of life in the piano completely changed me.”
Carmel Mayor James Brainard is supportive of the mission to promote music appreciation.
“The arts play an important role in child development and Carmel Klavier provides a rich forum for young pianists and musicians to not only showcase their talent but to inspire others around them to become music enthusiasts,” Brainard stated.
For more, visit CarmelKlavier.com. Tickets for the competition and the Winners’ Concert may be purchased at thecenterpresents.org. Ticket prices are $15 to $20 for adults and $10 to $15 for children (3-18).
