Welcome Message

Dear Young Pianists,

For the past two years, the world and our global music community has faced a series of unprecedented challenges due to the appearance of the Covid-19 pandemic. As our profession crucially relies upon gathering together, numerous performances, concerts, and other in-person events have been canceled and postponed, leaving a significant void in classical music across the globe. During these difficult times, we persevere in our confidence that the pandemic will end soon, and look forward to celebrating music-making once again. 

In this spirit, we welcome you to join us in our annual piano festival at the Faculty of Music & Performing Arts, here at Bilkent University. As piano teachers, we initiated this project in order to motivate the young pianists of the current generation; the event will provide them with new opportunities, broaden their horizons, and in the process, hopefully give them a memorable experience, both musically and on a personal basis. The festival will take place during the last week of June; there are numerous lessons, masterclasses, seminars, and concerts scheduled. We’ve invited a distinguished roster of guest artists; they represent decades of experience in teaching and performing; they are amongst the most successful and active classical musicians in our time. In addition, seminar guests will supplement the daily lessons and masterclasses with presentations on specific topics, focusing on those relating to modern pianism. We have no doubt that your participation and experience in the festival will become a fruitful, positive, and memorable event to remember for the future.

We are eager and look forward to having you all with us. Welcome to a week-long celebration of piano music at Bilkent!

Warm Regards,

Bilkent Piano Department 

Gamze Kırtıl, Chair, Piano Department (Turkish version)

Zerin Rasul

Barno Haknazarova

Oliver Jia (English version)

Bilkent Piano Festival 20-26 June 2022