Honens Welcomes Ten of the World's Top Emerging Pianists to Calgary Today

In two weeks, ten pianists from seven countries arrive in Calgary to compete for the world's largest piano prize. The 2015 Honens Festival & Piano Competition takes place today, September 3, through September 12.

The ten Semifinalists are: Luca Buratto (Italy), Scott Cuellar (United States), Dasol Kim (South Korea), Yoon-Jee Kim (South Korea), Henry Kramer (United States), Sejoon Park (United States), Karim Said (Jordan-United Kingdom), Samson Tsoy (Russia), Alexander Ullman (United Kingdom) and Artem Yasynskyy (Ukraine).

One will be named the Honens Prize Laureate and win $100,000 (CAN) and an artistic and career development program valued at a half million dollars.

Each Semifinalist performs two recitals (September 3 to 7): a 65-minute solo recital and a 65-minute collaborative recital with soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian, clarinetist James Campbell and violist Hsin-Yun Huang. Three pianists will advance to the Finals (September 10 and 11) for performances with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor Yan Pascal Tortelier. The Honens Prize Laureate will be announced at an awards show following the Finals on September 11.

All Competition performances are streamed live at honens.com/livestream and cbcmusic.ca. The Competition Finals are also streamed by cbcmusic.ca, as well as French on-line broadcaster medici.tv.

Honens also presents a variety of concerts during the ten-day festival, including performances by 1992 Honens Laureate Jean-Efflam Bavouzet; the Gershwin Piano Quartet; a late-night 'Bison Noir' jam session; a narrated Storytellers concert for family audiences, featuring Paddington Bear's First Concert; and a free outdoor concert of chamber music.

Tickets range in price from $10 to $95 (CAN) and are available online at honens.com or by calling the Honens Box Office at (403) 299-0140. Discounts are available for youth under age 18, 'A440' members aged 18 to 39, and seniors aged 65 or older. Passes, offering tickets at 25% off regular price, are available.

Honens discovers, nurtures and presents Complete Pianists -- 21st century artists for 21st century audiences. The Competition's mission is to identify talent that is unusual, imaginative and informed -- an artist not limited to displays of virtuosity but one who is capable of thoughtful, expressive music-making.

Calgary philanthropist Esther Honens dreamed of discovering and launching the careers of the world's most promising pianists. In 1991, she established the Honens Foundation with a gift of $5 million, creating a legacy for musicians and music-lovers around the world. Today, the Honens Piano Competition takes place every three years as part of the Honens Festival-Canada's International Festival of Piano. The Honens Prize for Piano-$100,000 CAN and an artistic and career development program valued at a half million dollars-is the largest prize of its kind. The 2015 Honens Festival & Piano Competition, presented by Nexen, a CNOOC Limited company, takes place in Calgary, September 3 to 12. For more information, visit honens.com.

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