Steinway Piano Competition Master Class in Edina!
Please join us for a Master Class with Dr. Bethel Balge, piano professor at Bethany Lutheran College, on Saturday, April 6th at 10:30AM at Schmitt Music Edina – free and open to the public!
On June 21 & 22, Steinway & Sons and Schmitt Music will hold the second annual Steinway Junior Piano Competition, and this master class is a great learning opportunity for young pianists who plan to compete this summer! Dr. Balge is a professor of piano, piano pedagogy, and piano literature at Bethany Lutheran College and piano at Martin Luther College, and she served as a judge in last year’s Twin Cities Steinway Piano Competition. All are welcome to attend as Dr. Balge conducts a master class from 10:30AM to 1PM with three students performing in this year’s competition.
Seating is limited, so please let us know if you plan to attend. Call 612-238-9941, email us at steinway@schmittmusic.com, or CLICK HERE TO RSVP TODAY!
The 2019 Steinway Junior Piano Competition will take place at Schmitt Music Edina on Friday, June 21 & Saturday, June 22 – CLICK HERE for details and register by May 1st!
Winner of the Louis B. Sudler Prize in the Arts and of the McKnight sponsored Artist Grant, pianist Bethel Balge has performed in Germany, including at Frankfurt’s Alte Oper, in Russia as soloist with the Voronezh Philharmonic, as well as in various American venues. Balge’s “highly concentrated, technically secure and captivating interpretation” of Ravel’s Gaspard de la Nuit attracted notice from a reviewer at the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung after a performance at the Alte Oper. As a doctoral student of Lydia Artymiw, Balge performed in a Minnesota Public Radio live broadcast in the Bach Birthday concert organized by MPR host Michael Barone.
She is founding Artistic Director of the Summit Avenue Music Series (SAMS), and Co-Artistic Director of the ProMusica Minnesota Chamber Music Festival. After six years in Germany, Balge received a Diplom degree from the University of Frankfurt’s Staatliche Hochschule fuer Musik und darstellende Kunst. Previously she received her Master of Music M.M. from the University of Wisconsin under Howard Karp. She is a cum laude graduate (Bachelor of Music) of Michigan State University, where she studied under Van Cliburn gold prize winner Ralph Votapek.
Balge has received numerous awards, including first place in the Grand Rapids Concerto Competition, in the Michigan State University Concerto Competition, in the Beethoven Competition in Madison, WI, and in the Ida Schroeder Foundation Scholarship Competition in Milwaukee, WI. She was finalist in the Chicago Civic Orchestra Concerto Competition and took third place in the Esther Wilburne Barnes National Competition in Georgia. Balge teaches piano and music history courses at Bethany Lutheran College (Mankato, MN) and at Martin Luther College (New Ulm, MN). Learn more here: bethelbalge.com.
