The recital will be held at Cass Winery
PASO ROBLES — The 2021 Paderewski Festival returns to live concerts, open to the public in various venues in and around Paso Robles, on November 5-7th. Paderewski Patrons and Friends of Paderewski passes as well as general public tickets are now available at paderewskifest.com.
One of the most exciting Festival events each year is the Youth Piano Competition Winners’ Recital, presenting talented young pianists from four Central California counties: Fresno, Monterey, San Luis Obispo, and Santa Barbara. This year’s auditions were held virtually, and a total of 14 students submitted their videotaped entries to the Festival. There were nine contestants in the Junior Division (ages 10-14) and five contestants in Senior Division (ages 15-18). Jurors included professors India D’Avignon, Paul Woodring, and Marek Zebrowski, Paderewski Festival Artistic Director. Competing students ranged in age from 12-16. A total of seven students—three Juniors and four Seniors—were selected to perform live at the 2021 Paderewski Festival in Paso Robles. Their recital will be held at Cass Winery, 7350 Linne Road, Paso Robles, CA 93446.
The Junior Division Third Place winner, Noelle Hadsall (13), a La Colina Junior High Student in Santa Barbara, will begin the Winners’ recital by performing Mendelssohn’s brilliant Rondo capriccioso, Op. 14. She studies piano with Pascal Salomon. Sela Yarbrough (12), the Second Place winner in the Junior Division, is a student at the Monarch River Academy in Kingsburg and a pupil of Andreas Werz. Sela will continue the program with the first movement of Beethoven’s Sonata Op. 10 no. 3. Top place honors in Junior Division this year go to Suri Kim (13), an eighth-grader from Orcutt Junior High and a student of Lynne Garrett since the age of five. Suri will be heard in performance of Scarlatti’s Sonata in A major, K. 24.
Grace Hu (15), an Honorable Mention (Senior Division) laureate, is a tenth-grader at Dos Pueblos High School in Goleta and a student of Vera Kong. Due to a prior commitment Grace is unable to participate in the Winners’ concert.
The Senior Division showcase begins with the Third Place winner, Andy Shen (15), a sophomore at San Luis Obispo High School and student of Alan Boehmer, will be heard next on the program. His repertoire will include the opening movement of Beethoven’s “Appassionata” and Paderewski’s first published opus, the Impromptu in F major dating from 1879. Aidan Purtell (16), the Second Place winner, is a piano student of Andreas Werz and an eleventh-grader in the Clovis Unified School District. He will present the opening movement of Brahms’s Sonata Op. 2 and Paderewski’s Nocturne, Op. 16 no. 4
The Winners’ concert will come to its conclusion with the performance of Scarlatti’s Sonata in G major, K. 427 and Chopin’s Valse in A-flat major, Op. 42 by Holly Hadsall, the First Place Senior Division winner and (just like her younger sister) a student of Pascal Salomon. Holly is currently a junior at San Marcos High School in Santa Barbara.
The 2020 and 2021 Youth Competition winners are eligible for selection to participate in the Cultural Exchange Program in Poland administered and financed by the Paderewski Festival in Paso Robles and the Festival’s partners in Poland. This program is currently projected to resume in June of 2022 after a pandemic-induced hiatus.
Traditionally, the Youth Competition Winners’ concert is free and open to the public. Showcasing Central Coast talent and trying to fulfill Paderewski’s wish of establishing a music school in Paso Robles has been one of the main goals of the Festival since its inception in 2006.
2021 Paderewski Festival Ticket Details:
â–Ş Opening Concert (Friday, Nov. 5 | 7 p.m. wine reception, 7:30 p.m. concert): Free admission, RSVP required.
▪ Youth Competition Winners’ Recital (Saturday, Nov. 6 | 5:00 p.m.): Free admission, RSVP required.
â–Ş Gala Concert (Saturday, Nov. 6 | 7 p.m. wine reception, 7:30 p.m. concert): $35 general public/$10 students.
Saturday meal options: $60 per person (food only); $75 per person (food and wine). Free to Friends of Paderewski and Paderewski Patrons.
Festival Passes: FRIENDS OF PADEREWSKI: $250. Includes priority seating at all events, complimentary food and wine on Saturday, Sunday private brunch, and guaranteed space should the audience size be limited due to any changes in SLO County health regulations. PADEREWSKI PATRONS: $500. Includes all of the above amenities, plus an exclusive dinner with the Gala artist on Friday night. The 2021 Festival Pass pricing remains unchanged from previous years.
The Paderewski Festival’s major sponsors and longtime partners include Epoch Estate Wines, Cass Winery, Park Ballroom/Acorn Management, Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Los Angeles, and USC Polish Music Center.
For more information, please consult paderewskifest.com website, email paderewskifestpaso@gmail.com , or call
805.235.5409.
