ECU festival connects young talent with renowned pianists
California teen Ari Nemet’s fingers flew across the keys as he played a Felix Mendelssohn composition on one of two side-by-side grand pianos on stage at East Carolina University’s A.J. Fletcher Recital Hall.
Nemet, 14, played Rondo Capriccioso, Op. 14 for over a dozen other East Carolina Piano Festival (ECPF) participants, ECU faculty artists and, perhaps most importantly, internationally-acclaimed pianist Sofya Gulyak. She joined Nemet on stage, working through the piece with him in a masterclass.
“Everything should be very flowy,” she said, demonstrating the movement with her hands. Nemet and Gulyak played measures of the piece back and forth during the masterclass, one of the opportunities for students in their teens and 20s during the festival, which continues through Sunday.
East Carolina Piano Festival participant Ari Nemet, 14, from Mountain View, Calif., plays a Felix Mendelssohn piece during a masterclass.
Debuting in 2018, the annual ECPF presents world-class pianists on ECU’s campus, features School of Music faculty artists, and offers participants from North Carolina and across the country to advance in their studies, and network with other pianists of various ages and talents. Those distinct opportunities have encouraged return attendees, and festival coordinators are eager to continue expanding offerings and interest.
Evan Martschenko ’22 attended that first ECPF before his freshman year at ECU, and now serves as the festival’s coordinator. He earned his master’s degree from the University of Cincinnati in 2024, and is working toward his doctorate from the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester in New York.
“It was an excuse for me to come back home and see a lot of people I love down here,” he said of working the festival every year since he attended as a student. “The festival itself is very, very special; the guests who come here are just incredible, and we have 20 young pianists and every single year they just blow me away.
“There is a huge amount of excellent music being made over the course of the week. That’s one of the huge draws for me.”
Martschenko said he has made some of his lifelong friends at summer festivals, including the ECPF. By hearing other pianists play, those listening can pick up pieces of musicianship that will contribute to their own art.
“If nothing else, you’re going to meet people here you will see again, because the music world is a small world,” he said.
Evan Martschenko ’22 participated in the first East Carolina Piano Festival in 2018, and has worked for the festival every year since.
Peter Yide Shi, who graduated this spring from the New England Conservatory with a bachelor’s degree in piano performance, is attending the ECPF for the second year in a row. The people he met in Greenville is a big reason why he returned.
“I have met and connected with a lot of fellow participants and become friends with them,” Shi said. “It was a really kind and loving community. A lot of the good memories from last year definitely inspired me to come back again this year.
“It’s a rare opportunity to spend a 10-day retreat at Greenville with world-class faculty, caring community, and other amazing pianists.”
Shi most recently studied with Meng-Chieh Liu, who was scheduled to attend this year’s ECPF, but canceled due to medical reasons. This year’s youngest participant, 11-year-old Ken Hu from Johns Creek, Georgia, studies with Alan Woo, another guest artist this year.
Dr. Samuel Gingher has taught piano pedagogy and class piano at ECU for just two years, and is helping expand connections made with and during the ECPF. He is part of both the Greenville Piano Teachers Association and the Raleigh Piano Teachers Association, and will hold a masterclass this week with the ECPF’s young artists.
“It’s a great opportunity for students to work with us, see the festival, and attend the concerts,” Gingher said.
He is considering additional ways to help expand the ECPF with community components, like building programming for teachers.
“There’s a really wonderful network of teachers in the area,” he said of the Greenville group, which has held events with and at ECU. “Last summer they came to some of the concerts.”
ECPF director, ECU associate professor and accomplished pianist Dr. Keiko Sekino said the teacher associations have helped the festival connect with the local teaching community, and offer more opportunities for piano students and artists both during the festival, and through ECU.
“The festival has expanded, not in numbers, but in more age range; it has expaned within this region, but also to famous conservatories,” she said. “The offerings are more and more; I think everything ties together.”
Ticketed concerts by guest artists, and two free concerts by attending young artists, continue this week at Fletcher Recital Hall. Learn more and order tickets on the ECPF concert web page.