East Carolina Piano Festival to return with new guest artists, familiar faces

East Carolina Piano Festival to return with new guest artists, familiar faces

GREENVILLE, N.C. (6/10/2026) - The East Carolina Piano Festival (ECPF) is back for 2026 with a lineup of performances from talented pianists of all ages.

The festival, held each summer on the East Carolina University campus, brings together internationally acclaimed artists and talented young pianists for an exceptional musical experience in eastern North Carolina.

The 2026 Piano Festival concerts are:

• Saturday, June 27, 7:30 p.m. - Festival Opening Concert, featuring guest and faculty artists Sam Gingher, Keiko Sekino, Yukiko Sekino, Alan Woo and Kwan Yi - ticketed
• Tuesday, June 30, 7:30 p.m. - Wei-Yi Yang in Recital - ticketed
• Thursday, July 2, 7:30 p.m. - Stephen Beus in Recital - ticketed
• Sunday, July 5, 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. - Young Artist Program Final Concerts I and II, featuring young pianists from across the U.S. who apply and are invited to participate - free

Individual concert tickets are $25 or $10 for students. Attend all three ticketed concerts for $60. Tickets are available now through the ECPF website. All performances will take place in the A.J. Fletcher Recital Hall at Fletcher Music Center on ECU's main campus.

The Young Artist Program offers pre-registered pre-college and collegiate students the chance to study with ECU faculty, participate in masterclasses with guest artists and more, leading up to the public performances that cap the ECPF.

Individuals wishing to request event accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act should contact ECU's ADA coordinator at least 48 hours before an event at 252-737-1018 or [email protected].

Described as "strikingly original … an interpretive voice all his own" ("Fanfare Magazine"), Stephen Beus is an American concert pianist and pedagogue of international renown. Within just four months, he garnered first prizes in both the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition and the Vendome Prize International Competition (Lisbon) and was named the Max I. Allen Fellow of the American Pianists Association (Indianapolis). He holds degrees from Whitman College, The Juilliard School and Stony Brook University. A Steinway artist, Beus is a professor of piano at Brigham Young University.

Wei-Yi Yang has received worldwide acclaim for his captivating performances and imaginative programming. He is the winner of the gold medal at the San Antonio International (now "The Gurwitz") Piano Competition, and has performed and taught around the world. Yang was born in Taiwan of Chinese and Japanese heritage, and studied in the United Kingdom and United States. He received his doctorate from Yale University in 2004 and joined the faculty there in 2005.

See the ECPF website for additional artist information.

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