New Paltz Piano Fest was started in 2000 by Valentina Shatalova and Carol Losee, both performers/piano teachers with studios in New Paltz, NY. The purpose is to give piano students the opportunity of playing in a large ensemble and to give them some much needed recognition. Piano Fest has since grown to include students from many other area teachers, representing four counties.
The Piano Fest format is to bring 20-25 digital pianos into the New Paltz High School Auditorium and have two students playing at each piano. The students are divided into groups, according to age and ability, and each group performs 3 or 4 songs. Advertisement is done, tickets are sold, and Piano Fest shirts are made. The rehearsals begin at 8:00 Saturday morning, with each group assigned a rehearsal time throughout the day. The festival culminates in Saturday evening's concert. Each year student soloists and guest artists are featured. Past Piano Fest guest artists have included the Mistral Trio, Soul Purpose, the Bernstein-Bard Trio, Adam LeFevre, Nancy Herforth's New Paltz Reformed Church Youth Choir, Russian lyric soprano Lydia Nikolskaya, vocalist Kelly Burger, and the east coast premiere of composer Don Harris' "Rondo Alla Pokemon". There is absolutely nothing like this in our area.
Valentina and Carol have started New Paltz Piano Fest from scratch, and it has truly been a labor of love. They have overseen every aspect of Piano Fest, from choosing and arranging the music to directing the entire event. They would like to see Piano Fest continue to grow so that more piano students will discover the joy of ensemble playing.