The International Keyboard Institute and Festival Wraps Up Its First Year at New Venue

Two-week festival features Yamaha and Bösendorfer instruments exclusively

Thanks to the efforts of Yamaha Artist Services in New York, Yamaha and Bösendorfer instruments took center stage as the exclusive instruments at the 2015 International Keyboard Institute & Festival (IKIF), which ran July 18 through August 2 at the Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College in New York City. IKIF featured two exquisite handcrafted concert grand pianos, the Yamaha CFX, and the North American debut of the new Bösendorfer 280 VC. Also, for the first time, IKIF's evening concerts were streamed live, including interviews with the performing artists. All of the performances are archived on the IKIF website: www.ikif.org/live

"Yamaha is proud of its long association with the International Keyboard Institute and Festival," said Bonnie Barrett, Director of Yamaha Artist Services New York. "IKIF attracts the highest caliber of faculty and students from around the globe. We were delighted to provide world-class concert instruments and unsurpassed technical service, to support artistry and musicianship at the highest level."

In addition to the Yamaha CFX concert grand, the piano of choice of renowned concert artists everywhere, as well as for recordings, concert venues, opera houses, international competitions, and music festivals, the new Bösendorfer 280 VC was performed on for the first time on a U.S. stage. A groundbreaking 21st Century instrument that builds on the rich Austrian music tradition associated with the Bösendorfer brand for nearly 200 years, the 280 VC takes the quality craftsmanship, sought-after sound and storied Austrian tradition of Bösendorfer pianos to even great heights.

IKIF allows students to attend the Festival to study with Faculty Artists, participate in master classes, and attend concerts and lectures given by some of the world's most renowned pianists and scholars. Yamaha Artists Jerome Rose, Magdalena Baczewska, Claire Huangci, and Alexander Kobrin were among the guest performers at this year's Festival. This year's Guest Artist Faculty included distinguished pianists Marc-André Hamelin, Alessio Bax, and Arnaldo Cohen. Rose, IKIF's founder/director, performed the opening concert.