caption – Division winners of Hesston College’s Bach Festival pictured with guest artist Frank Huang, left, are Zachary Lee, Chase Dwornicki, Riley Dwornicki, Ingrid Li, Amethyst Hale, Annie Nguyen, Aidan Hill, Trevor Penner, Hesston College piano instructor Dr. Bradley Baker, and David Cash.
Hesston College hosted Bach Festival for young pianists and organists and music lovers of all ages on March 9 and 10. Centered on the works, life and times of Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach, keyboardists ages 18-years-old and younger brought their best Bach pieces for competition.
Division winners were:
ELEMENTARY DIVISION (ages 9 and under)
1st: Zachary Lee, Overland Park, Kan., student of Emily Yeh
2nd: David Cash, Hutchinson, Kan., student of Matthew Cash
JUNIOR DIVISION (ages 10 to 13)
1st: Riley Dwornicki, Wichita, Kan., student of Christy Williams
2nd: Ingrid Li, Leawood, Kan., student of Emily Yeh
3rd: Chase Dwornicki, Wichita, Kan., student of Christy Williams
SENIOR DIVISION (ages 14 to 18)
1st: Annie Nguyen, Wichita, Kan., student of Shirley Wiebe
2nd: Amethyst Hale, Wichita, Kan., student of Brett Janssen
3rd: Trevor Penner, Hillsboro, Kan., student of J. Bradley Baker
ORGAN DIVISION
1st: Aidan Hill, Cunningham, Kan., student of Carole Pracht
Throughout the day participants also engaged with academic sessions on Bach’s life and the Baroque period. Presentations included:
- “Gaming Bach’s Keyboard Music” on the composers life and the time in which he lived, by Dr. Kelly St. Pierre, Wichita State University
- “Well-Tempered Bach” on tuning systems, motivic correlations, stylistic aspects and the importance of Bach’s “Well-Tempered Clavier,” by Dr. James Knight, Friends University
- “Organ Crawl,” a behind-the-scenes look at the inner workings of an organ, by Ken Rodgers, Hesston College
- “Harpsichord Petting Zoo,” an opportunity to play an harpsichord and hear Bach’s works on the instrument on which he composed.