Hilton Head International Piano Competition 2023 preview

We’ve just turned the page to the third month of 2023, and while most people’s monthly calendars say MARCH at the top, ours says HHIPC!  We are indeed headed into the home stretch of our planning for this year’s competition, and I know that all our volunteers (especially our amazing Committee chairs and our wonderful host families) and I are incredibly excited!

Our week of performance rounds from March 13-18 is actually the sixth Young Artist competition in the 26-year history of the HHIPC, as we welcome twenty international pianists ranging in age from 13-17.  This incredibly talented group—to whom we collectively refer as our “20 for ’23”—represent six countries and were selected by a jury of internationally renowned pianists from our original pool of 107 applicants from 16 different nations!

And speaking of juries, our panel for the Finals is comprised of five highly accomplished professional pianists and pedagogues (representing five countries) who will listen to all twenty young pianists play two rounds of recital programs, which take place at St. Luke’s Anglican Church (Monday, March 13 – Thursday, March 16; 1:30-9:30 pm each day).  On Thursday evening, the judges have the difficult task to select our five finalists, each of whom then performs a concerto movement with the HHSO and Maestro John Morris Russell on Saturday evening, March 18 (7:00 pm at First Presbyterian Church).  Later Saturday night, we will announce the winners and award the prizes, in front of what we hope will be a sold-out house, so please be sure to get your tickets soon!

The judges also have a busy day on Friday, March 17, which is our Master Class day at St. Luke’s Anglican Church (10:00 am-3:30 pm), featuring each of our judges working with their chosen competitor on a piece performed earlier in the week.  As an added bonus, our jury chair, Alvin Chow, will present a fun and engaging lecture/recital (11:45 am-12:45 pm) entitled, “1 Piano – 2 Brothers – 4 Hands” with special guest pianist (and brother!) Alan Chow, talking about preparing and presenting four-hand piano music.

Another highlight among many for these young pianists during their week here is our innovative Ambassador education program, which takes them into local schools and community centers to perform for students and seniors.  These interactive presentations are often life-changing experiences—both for the audiences who gain from watching and listening to these talented young artists, and for the competitors themselves, who get invaluable experience engaging with community audiences in an intimate setting.

It’s going to be an exhilarating week, so I urge all of you to join us as often as your schedule allows, especially in the early rounds as we get acquainted with these pianists (and our special $35 Gold Pass gets you into all four days of Rounds I and II!).  Plus, for those of you who are just not able to be with us in person, I am delighted to confirm that we will indeed be live streaming every single performance throughout the competition week via the HHIPC website.

And one more big reason that March is HHIPC month here in Hilton Head is because our 2017 Young Artist winner, Ray Ushikubo (who just graduated from the Curtis Institute with a double degree in piano and violin performance!), is returning to play Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 1 with our own HHSO on March 26-27!   What better way to celebrate the HHIPC than by showcasing all this amazing young talent—essentially capturing the past, present and future of our organization’s mission to encourage and support excellence in the performance of classical piano music.

I look forward to seeing you often in the coming weeks!

—Steven Shaiman, Director, Hilton Head International Piano Competition

FROM THE BOARD ROOM: HOW ARE WE DOING?

Good day!  It’s gorgeous outside, Spring looks like it is definitely here, and the pollen clouds hopefully are beginning to dissipate.  The symphony season is almost over, and you might wonder what the outlook is for the rest of the year.  The answer is—while we could do better and see greater audience participation, we are beginning to look behind us and see that COVID is leaving our island and its surrounding areas.  You might then ask, if that is the case, what do we have to look forward to?

The real answer to that question has many aspects of excitement and fun, so let’s take a peek at this month and the rest of the 2022-2023 season:

During March, we are eagerly awaiting the performances and contest of the Hilton Head International Piano Competition.  The staff and judges have been busy organizing the various aspects of the events, the competitors have been chosen, and they have been practicing their selected pieces that the judges will evaluate.  Housing for the competitors and their family members has been arranged, and excitement of all who follow our young performers has been increasing daily.  Please mark off the days of March 13-18 to enjoy the beautiful music performed by our future stars.

For those of us looking at the rest of the month, also note the opportunity to enjoy joining friends for another Sunday Supper Club on March 19 at SoundWaves, followed by the delight of listening to the HHSO on March 26 and 27, performing the music of Beethoven, with Ray Ushikubo at the piano. Music by Mozart and the outstanding Caroline Shaw complete the program.

April opens with the Symphony Under The Stars on Tuesday, April 4.  Performed with the energy of Maestro John Morris Russell and the entire orchestra presenting an outdoor pops concert at Low Country Celebration Park, they will be offering many of Broadway’s greatest hits.  This event will be free, providing the opportunity to bring some food and wine and a blanket or two. There will be 20 tables of 10 each, that can be purchased (as a whole or individual seats) to provide a different vantage point.  Reverting to a prior tradition for this event, there will be awards for best costumes and table decorations.

Not to be outdone, the season will continue with the Maestro, the Symphony, and the women of the HHSO Chorus performing The Planets by Gustav Holst.  Joining our resident performers will be guest artist and Savannah native, Joseph Conyers, performing a concerto for double bass by Tan Dun. A charming homage to spring by Frederick Delius opens the program.

You might think the season is over, but I would remind you of the Hilton Head Chamber Music Institute in early June, where sixteen teenagers come together for ten days of intense learning and practice with their professional faculty to perform in quartets on violins, violas, and cellos around the island. The week includes several events open to the public.

Looking ahead, we are already well underway planning for the 2023-2024 season.  The Maestro and orchestra, along with President and CEO Alan Jordan and COO Mario Incorvaia, have narrowed their choices for next year, and the board and staff have begun the arduous task of arranging all the performances that we have come to appreciate.

I ask you to join us for all the events and continue to support and be both overjoyed and amazed by the talents that the HHSO provides for our enjoyment.

—Mike Harter, Chairman, Board of Directors

From the Corner Office

Orchestras have long prided themselves in planning things out 12, 24, and sometimes 36 months ahead. During the pandemic, we were sometimes piecing together events only weeks or days ahead. Fortunately, we are gradually moving back toward a more forward-looking planning process, something many of us more “seasoned folks” very much welcome!

Planning is a multi-pronged effort.  We have our weekly to-do lists.  Then there are the monthly obligations and deadlines. At the same time as those responsibilities are being juggled, we are also piecing together programming for the coming season.  Indeed, the 2023-2024 Orchestra Series is rapidly gelling and we are excited to share our plans with our subscribers in the coming weeks—and with the wider public later this Spring.

On top of all that is more long-range, strategic planning.  At one point, orchestras and other business might consider developing a 5- or 10-year plan.  Given the current economic and demographic dynamics, it seem foolhardy to contemplate so far out in the future.  Currently, our Strategic Planning Committee is working toward a new 3-year plan, to commence next season.

The Committee and staff are currently in the fact-gathering phase of planning. Focus groups of internal constituencies as well as an external, community group, are being convened.  All of our Orchestra Series subscribers were invited to participate in an online survey and those responses are currently being tallied and analyzed. (Thank you to the many patrons who took time to share their opinions and insights!) It is the Committee’s intent to have a proposed new Strategic Plan presented to the Board of Directors at its May Annual Meeting. Once approved, the plan will be posted at hhso.org.

Strategic planning allows an organization to take a 30,000-foot view of the landscape. Are there things we are not currently doing that we should be doing?  If we add new things, do we make room for them by eliminating others, or do we identify new resources to fund the additions? How does the HHSO evolve to serve the evolving needs of its community? Indeed, what is the community that the HHSO serves?

Of course, these questions are on staff members’ and directors’ minds all the time, but answering them “on the fly” amid the daily and weekly tasks often produces short-sighted results. And no one wants to make significant or dramatic changes without complete data and ample consideration time.

I cannot tell you right now if the new plan will result in a different looking HHSO three years from now. The conversations along the way are almost as valuable as the final product. And no one involved is looking for a plan that gets approved and then put on a shelf to collect dust. No matter the result, fulfilling our mission of “inspiring, enriching, and uniting the Lowcountry through music” will continue to drive all of our efforts.

—Alan Jordan, President and CEO

ATTENTION ORCHESTRA SERIES SUBSCRIBERS: Watch your mailboxes in late March or early April for your 2023-2024 season renewal packet.  Current subscribers are the first to learn of our repertoire and soloists and have an exclusive period during which to renew their subscriptions and/or effect upgrades or other changes.

Congratulations to David Ludwig, one of four composers who recently received a $10,000 Award in Music from The American Academy of Arts and Letters. The awards honor outstanding artistic achievement and acknowledge composers who have “arrived at their own voice.” David will receive an additional $10,000 to record his work and will have his music presented in concert at the Academy.  Ludwig’s Violin Concerto was performed by his wife, Bella Hristova, and the HHSO during the February 19 and 20, 2023, Orchestra Series concerts.

From the Other End of the Hallway

The beginning of 2023 felt a bit like we were launched into orbit, with a huge flurry of activity here at the HHIPC, in preparation for two of the biggest events in our seasonal calendar.  The first was our January 18 Musical Feast benefit at the Sonesta Resort, which was a rousing success!

Our fun and festive evening was attended by 150 friends and supporters, all of whom were highly appreciative of the wonderful dinner and especially of our magnificent performers who shared their artistry across a range of genres — HHIPC alum pianist Ran Dank (2008 Winner); trio members Nina Sandberg (HHSO violin), Daniel Mumm (HHSO cello), and Chee-Hang See (YCC piano); and tenor Bernard Holcomb (who dazzled us that evening and also a few days later, as one of our soloists with the HHSO in the spectacular performance of Elijah!)

In addition to those engaging musical performances, there was a heartfelt tribute to my dear predecessor, Mona Huff, in celebration of her 12 years of devoted leadership.  And, of course, we had a fun live auction and raffle basket giveaway to raise essential funds to support the HHIPC, so I am glad to report that the gross income for the evening was over $46,000 (including $16,000 in gifts to support the live streaming of the competition!).

Let me take this opportunity to say a heartfelt ‘thank you’ to those who donated the live auction items, to all the people who bid on them and the live stream, and especially to our stellar committee members who made it all happen!

Then in late January, I swapped my HHIPC Director’s hat for my HHSO Director of Education and Community Engagement hat in running the orchestra’s annual Youth Concerto Competition!  On Saturday, January 28, we hosted nine talented high school string players here at SoundWaves as our finalists, coming from five different Southeastern states. These finalists were selected from a pool of over 40 applicants (from nine states), and they competed here by playing a movement of a concerto or solo piece with orchestra (with all of them accompanied expertly by our wonderful staff pianist Chee-Hang See, who became the orchestra for each young artist!).  Our jury panel consisted of three HHSO members—Micah Gangwer (concertmaster), Lizhou Liu (principal viola), and Lee Richey (cello)—and their job was most challenging, because the level of playing across the board was exceedingly high!  At the end of the afternoon, there were numerous prizes and scholarships awarded (totaling over $9,000), with the big prize of a concerto engagement with the HHSO and Maestro John Morris Russell going to our first prize winner, 15-year-old violinist Audrey Goodner, from Reston, VA.  I was particularly pleased to see a packed house here to support these gifted young musicians, plus the entire event was livestreamed on the HHSO YouTube channel.  You can read more about the event and the winners on our website here (which also has a link to the video).

My HHIPC ‘Competition Preview’ appears earlier in this issue, so the only other HHIPC business for now is to let everyone know that May 2023 is our next big piano month here at SoundWaves…

On Thursday, May 11, we present the final concert in this season’s HHIPC Recital Series, featuring the ever-popular pianist Fei-Fei (2012 Medalist), and tickets will be on sale for that soon.  Then, from May 13-21, our good friends and sponsors from Rice Music House in Columbia, SC will be bringing a bunch of their premium instruments to SoundWaves for a special HHI piano sale!  And, finally, for our members of the ‘88 Keys Society’ and ‘Pay for a Piper,’ we have our annual Movie Night on Friday, May 19, and as a little teaser, I can tell you that it’s a recent documentary film about Rachmaninoff (in recognition of this beloved pianist/composer’s 150^th birthday this year!) which has not yet been released in the USA!  Since this is indeed a ‘members only’ event, there is still time to purchase a key or support an instrument in the HHSO, and your $500 donation will get you an invitation to our special film screening on 5/19!

Thanks for reading, and I hope to see you soon at the competition!

—Steven Shaiman, Director, Hilton Head International Piano Competition and Education and Community Engagement

From the SoundWaves Studio-Springtime at SoundWaves

Springtime seems to have arrived quickly here with the sun staying above the horizon noticeably later into the evening, with the azaleas in full bloom a full month ahead of the RBC Heritage (oh, and ahead of The Masters), and with our local Coligny restaurants returning to more robust operating hours we haven’t seen in quite a while. And, all that restaurant activity is a good thing, because here at SoundWaves we have put many of them to the test thus far and plan to do so even more!

Looking ahead this Spring, we eagerly anticipate several dinner and concert event pairings at SoundWaves, highlighted by two more Gullah Cultural Series evenings and three Coastal Home Supper Club series events.

Gullah Cultural Series artistic advisor Lavon Stevens is cooking up some great events for us featuring chef Thomas Baker, painters Tony Burns and Lisa Evans, storyteller Louise Cohen, vocalist Marlena Smalls, and of course, Gullah Cultural Series house band: The Lavon Stevens Trio! Be sure to mark these dates on your calendar (Tuesday, April 11^th and Tuesday, May 9^th).

We culminate our second annual Coastal Home Supper Club series with a trifecta of programs, beginning with a smoking hot gospel soul set headlined by vocalist Laiken Love, followed by Gretchen Kristine Stelzer remembering recently departed Burt Bacharach, and with a season finale you will not want to miss (Sunday, April 16^th, Sunday, May 7^th, and Sunday, June 4^th).

We are thrilled to continue to provide space for year-round International Piano Competition activity too, looking forward to fan-favorite, Fei-Fei, in solo recital (Thursday, May 11^th) and a special piano sale event with our HHIPC partner Rice Music. SoundWaves also is the home base for another important youth development activity, our Hilton Head Chamber Music Institute (June 7^th-17^th). To many of us, this is the most satisfying time of the year because we get to enjoy four student string quartets rehearsing throughout SoundWaves all workweek long. The final performances are beyond all expectations. Look for more details as June approaches.

As always, join us as an audience member or as volunteer usher. Either way, you will find the experiences at SoundWaves most rewarding. There’s lots of great music ahead, so when you are out and about town, tell your friends about our cozy home.

Stay tuned and remember I’ll see you at SoundWaves!

—Mario Incorvaia, HHSO Chief Operating Officer

Upcoming Events 

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Sunday, March 26, 2023, 4:00 pm and Monday, March 27, 2023, 7:30 pm

 

Buy Tickets for Sunday Buy Tickets for Monday

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Tuesday, April 11, 2023, 7:30 pm

(doors open at 6:00 pm, dinner served at 6:30 pm), SoundWaves, HHI 

Gullah Cultural Series – Taste and See: Gullah Cuisine and Art

Thomas Baker, chef
Lavon Stevens Band

Watch for updates at hhso.org. To make a reservation, call (843) 842-2055.

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Buy Tickets

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Sunday, April 23, 2023, 4:00 pm and Monday, April 24, 2023, 7:30 pm

Buy Tickets for Sunday Buy Tickets for Monday

Performance Weekend sponsor

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Tuesday, May 9, 2023, 7:30 pm

(doors open at 6:00 pm, dinner served at 6:30 pm), SoundWaves, HHI 

Gullah Cultural Series – Ladies of Gullah

Lavon Stevens Band

Watch for updates at hhso.org. To make a reservation, call (843) 842-2055.

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Thursday, May 11, 2023, 7:30 pm

SoundWaves, HHI

HHIPC Recital Series

Fei-Fei, piano

Watch for updates at hhipc.org. To make a reservation, call (843) 842-2055.

Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra Board of Directors