International piano competition features two young local contestants

Sep. 7—CAPE VINCENT — It's a rarity for local residents to perform at the Thousand Islands International Piano Competition for Young People, but two of them will take to the keys beginning today for the 20th installment of the contest.

Alice Pan, 17, a senior at Immaculate Heart Central High School in Watertown and Erdem Lukomyanski, 11, a sixth grader at Sackets Harbor Central, will join 13 other pianists from Rochester, Syracuse, Long Island, Ontario, Canada, New Jersey, Houston and China.

The last time a local musician appeared at the competition was in 2012 when Noah P. Landers, Watertown, then 15, competed. He is now an architect at Aubertine and Currier, Watertown.

The annual competition, today, Saturday and Sunday presented by the Cape Vincent Arts Council, is held at Maple Grove Estate, 596 W. Broadway St. This year's contest is dedicated to Bruce Cowan Taylor, co-owner of Maple Grove Estate, who died in July. Bruce and his wife, Lynn, opened their home to the piano competition for many years.

"Our goal is to bring the joy of classical music to the Thousand Islands as well as nurture and reward up-and-coming young artists," said Liz Brennan, president of the Cape Vincent Arts Council. "By combining beautiful music with the natural beauty of Cape Vincent and the St. Lawrence River, this event creates a wonderful experience for all involved."

The event is free and audience members are invited to come and go as they please throughout the competition, which begins at 9 a.m. each day and ends in late afternoon. Sunday's portion ends at noon, followed by an awards ceremony.

This year's performers range in age from 10 to 25.

For Alice, who said she does not come from a musical family, her interest in piano music came when she was very young when videos of musicians playing piano caught her fancy.

"They could play it on their own and the music that came out intrigued me," Alice, the daughter of Wen J. Chen and Zu H. Pan, Watertown, said. "They made it look easy. But then, I looked at how they played and it obviously was not easy and I wanted to learn how to do that."

After seeing Alice's interest in piano, her family got her an electronic keyboard and signed her up for lessons with local instructor Hyun Lee, who Alice said has since moved away.

"All of my piano teachers have been good, but she was especially patient and she made learning how to play piano in the beginning interesting and fun," Alice said. "It's hard to keep the attention of a child."

A piano arrived in Alice's home 10 years ago, which further honed her skills. She is now instructed by Christopher Davis of Watertown Music Studio.

At the weekend competition, pianists will participate in three rounds of competition and perform music by Chopin, J.S. Bach, and other classical composers. In recognition of the event's 20th year, they may also choose to compete for a special prize by performing one of five pieces chosen by celebrated Cape Vincent composer Augusta Cecconi-Bates.

The compositions by Cecconi-Bates reflect her love of history. Many have a historic narrative. Her "Essences of the North Country, A Musical Tribute to the Tug Hill Plateau" was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in music in 2001.

In May 2022, the Clayton Community Band debuted her "Our River Hospital March" at the Clayton Opera House, a personal and musical thank-you to River Hospital, Alexandria Bay.

"It is quite an honor to have my keyboard works programmed in such a prestigious event; rare to have recognition in one's backyard," Cecconi-Bates said.

Two divisions

Pianists will compete for cash prizes in two divisions: Junior (those not yet six months out of high school and younger) and Senior (high school graduates up to age 26).

Prizes in the Junior Division: 1st, $3,000; 2nd, $1,500 and $750 for third place.

Senior Division prizes: 1st, $2,500; 2nd, $1,500 and $750 for third place.

The award for the Cecconi-Bates prize is $400 in each division.

In addition to judges' prizes, audience members will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite performer in each division. Those ballots must be accompanied by a cash donation of any amount. These donations become the Audience Awards.

There are three rounds of competition for each division. The judges measure competitors against a professional-artistic standard based on their performance. Artistic director for the competition is award-winning pianist and acclaimed music educator Brian Preston. A leader in the Rochester music community and a concert pianist who has performed around the world, Preston has been on the music faculty of Nazareth College since 1991.

In addition to Preston, this year's judges are Eliran Avni, assistant professor of piano/organ and music performance at SUNY Fredonia, and Nicholas Susi, assistant professor of piano at the University of South Carolina.

The Thousand Islands International Piano Competition for Young People was founded in 2002 by the late Dr. William Grant in cooperation with the Cape Vincent Arts Council. The contest wasn't held in 2020 because of the pandemic. Grant's legacy of bringing classical music to the Thousand Islands continues with volunteer support by area residents who love music and want to support young pianists. That includes residents who host the pianists during the competition.

"You usually don't get this caliber of classical music unless you live in a big city, so Cape Vincent has a real sense of pride about hosting it," Brennan said. "It's something very unique for this area. Many of the students never knew the Thousand Islands or St. Lawrence River existed until they came here, and they're flabbergasted by the beauty."

Organizers say one of the competing pianists, Xiqiao Zhang, age 22, will stay in town an extra day to do a presentation at Bashaw Elementary School at 9 a.m. on Monday. Zhang is a student at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester.