Piano Camp 2000 planned at St. Francis Music Center

St. Francis Music Center will host its 2000 Piano Camp on August 6-12 on St. Francis Campus in Little Falls.

Now in its 11th year, this camp attracts the best teenaged pianists from throughout the state. During the week-long residential camp, the students participate in private lessons, Master Classes, theory classes, lectures, student forums and two recitals.

Each student also practices a minimum of two hours per day, many practice much more. In between, they take the opportunity to meet other students with the same love and passion for piano that they have, and to have fun.

The clinicians for this year’s camp are Dr. Paul Wirth of the Central Minnesota School of Music; Dr. Yakov Gelfand of St. Olaf University and the MacPhail School of Music; and Dr. Joseph Zins who has taught at Macalester College and Gustavus College and now teaches in his private studio in St. Paul. All three clinicians are well-known nationally for their performing abilities and for their talent of teaching teen-aged piano students. They each have many award winning students, who have gone on to careers in music.

Attending this year’s camp are: Aileen Bach of Minneapolis; Erin Ehresmann and Benjamin Von Korff of St. Cloud, Naomi Erlewine, Ben King, Vanessa Raabe, Stephen Haswell Todd, and Anna Ungers of St. Paul; Noelle Gray of Little Falls; Sara Gunderson from Upsala; Jessica Heim from Sartell; Elizabeth Howard and Charles Srstka from Sioux Falls, SD; Giancarlo Izzi and Lin Ruan of Maplewood; Rose Marie James of Monticello; Elenora Kramarenko of Eden Prairie; David Mercer from Woodbury; Nicholas Pearson of Princeton; Matthew Peterson and Julia Zhang from Roseville; and Angie Ringsmuth of Waite Park.

The students will participate in two Gala Recitals at the close of Piano Camp. The first will be held at St. Francis Music Center in Little Falls at 3 p.m. on Friday, August 11. The second will be held at the Historic Paramount Theater in St. Cloud at 1 p.m. on Saturday, August 12. Both recitals are free and open to the public.

The St. Francis Music Piano Camp is partially funded by the Laura Jane Musser Fund and is sponsored by the Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls.