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BRAMA, March 23, 2001, 7:00am EST


Press Release

Interlochen students receive unique opportunity to perform on historic pianos
in conjunction with Smithsonian's Piano 300 exhibition

Interlochen junior from Kharkiv among those participating

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Twelve students from Interlochen Arts Academy this week received a unique opportunity to perform on a collection of historical pianos that are part of a special Smithsonian Institution exhibition celebrating the piano's 300th anniversary.

The students represent Russia, Ukraine, China, Japan, Columbia, Republic of Georgia and six U.S. states. (A complete list follows below.)

Sergei Lugovskoi, junior, from Kharkiv, Ukraine

Interlochen students were invited to perform on the instruments as part of the educational outreach program of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. On Thursday afternoon, for the first time since the "Piano 300" exhibit opened a year ago, students did all the performing during the public tour. "Piano 300: Celebrating Three Centuries of People and Pianos" commemorates the invention of this universally beloved instrument.

The students are all piano majors at Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan, the United States' premier fine arts boarding high school.

"We are especially pleased that our collections can benefit these splendid young musicians, who have worked hard to master these instruments, transforming their own music-making in the process," said Jim Weaver, music curator at the National Museum of American History.

In addition, several Interlochen students performed a recital on instruments Wednesday evening. Among the instruments used for the recital was the 1903 White House Steinway. The instrument, used from the time of Teddy Roosevelt through subsequent administrations until 1939, "changed the direction of White House concerts, bringing a steady stream of major pianists," Weaver said.

Other instruments on which Interlochen students performed included a 1745 Antwerp French harpsichord, a Baldwin owned by Liberace (customized with 125 pounds of Austrian rhinestones for Liberace's Radio City Music Hall appearances), a piano commissioned to represent American industrial progress in the American pavilion at the 1939 New York Worlds Fair, and a Steinway that once stood in Duke Ellington's New York apartment.

Among the students participating was Sergei Lugovskoi, a junior from Kharkiv, Ukraine. "It is wonderful to hear great pieces of music on the pianos for which they were written," he said.

Sergei is a student of Yoshikazu Nagai. He has been playing piano for 11 years, and studied at the Kharkiv Secondary Special Music School with Victor Makarov and Elen Iolis. Sergei has been a prize winner in the Kharkiv Young Pianist Competition and the Pavlo Luzenko International Piano Competition, as well as a concerto winner at Interlochen Arts Academy.

Interlochen Arts Academy is one component of Interlochen Center for the Arts, which is recognized around the world as the premier place for young musicians, dancers, actors, visual artists and writers to explore and develop their talents.

The piano program at the Academy includes five faculty members, who teach in the new Frohlich Piano and Percussion Building.

"Interlochen has more than 125 pianos used year-round, some more than 100 years old, but nothing can compare to this extraordinary collection," Interlochen President Edward J. Downing said of the Piano 300 exhibit. "We deeply appreciate the unique opportunity our students have received."

In addition to Interlochen Arts Academy, Interlochen Center for the Arts also operates the United States' oldest summer arts camp, a year-round arts festival, an independent elementary school and two public radio stations. Interlochen's main campus is located on 1,200 wooded acres in the northwest corner of lower Michigan, near Traverse City.

For more information about Interlochen, visit www.interlochen.org. For a virtual tour of Piano 300, visit www.piano300.org.

Interlochen students at Smithsonian:

Lu Yang, senior, Guangzhou, China
Victor Giraldo, junior, Bogota, Columbia
Aleksandre Tsomaya, junior, Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia and Hudsonville, Michigan
Olga Gorelik, senior, Skokie, Illinois
Naoko Imafuku, senior, Kumamoto, Japan
Yukari Ishizuka, senior, Saitama, Japan
Steve Wildermuth, senior, St. Louis, Missouri
Tsvetanka Dabova, sophomore, St. Petersburg, Russia
Michael Finlay, junior, Bryan, Texas
Sergei Lugovskoi, junior, Kharkiv, Ukraine
Asya Kozhevnikova, senior, Salt Lake City, Utah
Diana Strong, senior, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin


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