Rebecca Penneys Piano Festival is pleased to present 40 exceptional collegiate piano talents from around the world in concert throughout Tampa Bay. These stellar young artists were chosen from an astounding 245 applications from 25 countries and 93 schools. Each concert features a few carefully selected students performing a variety of pieces that represent treasures of the classical piano repertoire. Specific programs are announced when RPPF commences in June, but each performance is sure to delight!

Marly Music | Rebecca Penneys Piano Festival: International Award-Winning Pianists in Concert
Sunday, July 13, 2025
1:00 PM–2:00 PM
Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg
Marly Room
$15 for MFA Members; $30 for Not-Yet-Members

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ABOUT REBECCA PENNEYS MUSIC FESTIVAL

Celebrated worldwide, the Rebecca Penneys Piano Festival is tuition-free and is held annually from June 27–July 17 at the University of South Florida (USF) School of Music. RPPF participants are prize-winning collegiate pianists who are mentored and taught by 25 internationally renowned faculty. Program events include about a semester’s worth of private lessons, nightly masterclasses, special topic classes, faculty presentations, performance opportunities, and abundant practice time on Steinway pianos. The festival’s goal is to offer each aspiring concert pianist—and the world of piano—a unique view of many different philosophies in teaching and performing styles. It is supported entirely by wonderful volunteers and private donors. To join the RPPF family is to become part of a legacy of excellence that shapes careers and opens doors to a world of possibilities.

ABOUT REBECCA PENNEYS

Rebecca Penneys is a recitalist, chamber musician, orchestral soloist, educator, and adjudicator. For over six decades, she has been hailed as a pianist of prodigious talent, concertizing worldwide and representing the USA in Information Service State Department Cultural Tours over a ten-year period. She made her recital debut at age 9 and performed as soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra at 11. At 17, she received the unprecedented Special Critics’ Prize at the VII International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw—an award created in her honor. An International Steinway Artist, her many CDs, DVDs, HD performance/teaching videos, and Chicken Soup for Pianists are available online. Most recently, Rebecca was a guest at the Royal Northern College of Music, Adamant Music School, PianoTexas, and Bay PianoFest. Professor Emerita of Piano at the Eastman School of Music, her list of illustrious mentors includes Aube Tzerko, Leonard Stein, Rosina Lhevinne, Artur Rubinstein, Menahem Pressler, György Sebök, Janos Starker, and Josef Gingold. RPPF was launched in 2013 and is Rebecca’s legacy project. It is supported by Rebecca Penneys Friends of Piano, a 501(c)(3). Learn more at rebeccapenneys.com and on YouTube.

Recipient of the Hnatyshyn Foundation’s Developing Artist Grant, awarded to promising young Canadian artists, 23-year-old pianist Naomi Wong is an active performer and teacher, currently based in Baltimore. She made her concerto debut in 2017 with the North York Concert Orchestra and has performed concerti by Brahms, Chopin, and Schumann in recent years with the University of Toronto Campus Philharmonic Orchestra, York Symphony Orchestra, and the Kindred Spirits Orchestra, among others. In the solo realm, Naomi cherishes the opportunity to interact with and introduce lesser-known repertoire to her audiences. She regularly appears in concert series throughout Canada, and as the winner of the Betty Dickinson Competition, she has presented solo recitals at Steinway Hall in New York City, the Blanco Performing Arts Series, and the Austin Steinway Gallery. Naomi began her piano studies at age six and is currently pursuing her Master’s in Piano Performance at the Peabody Institute, where she is a graduate assistant in Keyboard Studies. She is greatly indebted to her current teacher, HieYon Choi, as well as her former teachers: Steven Philcox and Enrico Elisi at the University of Toronto, Ken Marple at the University Settlement Music & Arts School, and Rachel Yu, all of whom have contributed to her passion for music and have guided her to discover her artistic voice. Learn more about Naomi online at https://www.naomiwongpiano.com/

Chau Minh Tran, a 20-year-old pianist from Hanoi, Vietnam, began her piano studies at the age of four. In 2019, she graduated from the Colburn Academy with a full scholarship after 3 years of studying under Professor Fabio Bidini. Chau is currently working towards her Bachelor’s Degree in Piano Performance with Professor Alvin Chow at the Oberlin Conservatory. In her second year at Oberlin, Chau was the recipient of the Rudolf Serkin Award for Sophomore Pianists. Previously, she has won competitions such as the Ricard Vines for Juniors Competition (Lleida, Spain), the Maria Herrero International Piano Competition (Granada, Spain), the Lansum International Piano Competition (Los Angeles, USA), in addition to receiving 2nd prize at the FIPMA Piano Competition (Malaga, Spain), among others. Chau has had the opportunity to perform with the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra, the Vietnam National Chamber Orchestra, and the Wrastislavia Chamber Orchestra in Germany. She has also participated in masterclasses with notable professors and musicians such as Jerome Lowenthal, HieYon Choi, Dang Thai Son, Pavel Nersessian, Alexander Shtarkman, Antonio Pompa Baldi, and  Logan Skelton.

Born in the US and raised in Bangkok, 20-year-old Brian Lin began his piano lessons at the age of five and has won numerous prizes in national and international competitions such as the Chopin International Piano Competition in Asia, the Steinway Youth Competition Thailand, the Yokohama International Music Competition, and the Hong Kong Music Competition for Young Pianists, among others. He recently performed Prokofiev’s third concerto in Thailand with the Thai Youth Orchestra and a Haydn piano concerto in Hungary. His past mentors and teachers include Jamorn Supapol, Rolf-Dieter Arens, Poom Prommachart, Grigory Gruzman, and Christopher Janwong McKiggan. A frequent performer in Thailand, Brian has also performed extensively in Taiwan, Japan, Hungary, Germany, and Portugal. He has participated in masterclasses with renowned pianists such as Andrzej Jasinski, Vanessa Latarche, Boris Berman, James Giles, Eugen Indjic, Akiko Ebi, Dina Yoffe, Andrea Bonatta and Ronan O’Hora. Brian is currently a second-year undergraduate student studying at Oberlin Conservatory studying with Alvin Chow.