Sheridan Music Studio and IN.LIVE proudly announce The Bach with a View International Competition and Festival for Young Artists On March 5-7, 2021

The dynamic duo of Steinway Artists Susan Merdinger and Dr. Svetlana Belsky are back at it again with their second Annual Young Artists Festival and Competition. This year’s competition and the festival will be “Bach with a View”, and focus entirely on works by Johann Sebastian Bach, in conjunction with Bach’s birthday in March. As Co-Artistic Directors of Sheridan Music Studio LLC in Chicago, IL, Merdinger and Belsky inaugurated their Young Artist Festival held in-person at Sheridan Music Studio in February 2020 to resounding success for all participants and audience members alike. IN.LIVE, a new Silicon-Valley tech startup for live streaming music co-sponsored the events and will continue to do so for 2021.

The 2021 “Bach with a View” Festival and Competition has now been expanded to include two categories for both Piano and Strings. The distinguished jury is International in scope and includes distinguished Pianists and String Players: Jeffrey Biegel, Giacomo Scinardo, Svetlana Belsky, Susan Merdinger, and Jory Vinikour for the Piano Division and David Yonan, Charles Pikler, Martine Benmann, Nazar Dzhuryn, and Marta Szlubowska for the Strings Division.

Open to students in three age groups 8-13 years, 14-18 years, and 18 -23 years, the Competition and Festival aim to inspire and motivate young music students to recognize their fullest potential and to provide an opportunity to focus on a particular composer or genre of music. This year’s Festival and Competition is expanded but also VIRTUAL, which will enable students from around the world to participate and benefit from all that is being offered. Taking place over three days, the festival will include Lecture-Recitals, a Special Bach-Gala Concert, MasterClasses for selected non-Finalists and Finalists, and the airing of the pre-recorded performances by a selected group of Finalists. The Top prize winners in each group and category will receive prizes and certificates and may be awarded the opportunity to perform in Sheridan Music Studio’s Music with a View Concert Series in downtown Chicago.

About Sheridan Music Studio’s Artistic Directors:

Steinway Artist Susan Merdinger is a multi-awarded classical pianist, music director, recording artist, and educator with a distinguished career. She has been internationally acclaimed in prestigious newspapers and journals for her stunning performances. Critics have described her playing as “eloquent”, “spellbinding”, and “virtuosic”. With a riveting stage presence, she regularly commands standing ovations from her emotionally charged and spiritually uplifting performances with orchestras and solo recitals in major concert halls around the world. Indeed, performances by Ms. Merdinger are a celebration of a life passionately immersed in classical music.  Merdinger is an alumna of Yale University, the Yale School of Music and the Manhattan School of Music. 

Steinway Artist, Dr. Svetlana Belsky, is an award-winning recitalist, chamber pianist, and recording artist, noted for her remarkable rapport with audiences and stylistic versatility. She has toured internationally in Ukraine, Russia, Poland, Italy, Canada, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and throughout the United States, performing at Carnegie Recital Hall, Kiev Philharmonic Hall, Dame Myra Hess Series, Music in the Loft, Chicago’s Cultural Center and Harris Theater, countless university concert series, live recitals on Chicago’s WFMT and New York’s WQXR. Dr. Belsky served as the Director of the Piano Program at the University of Chicago for fifteen years, teaching students from four continents, guiding numerous students to victories in competitions for professionals and amateurs alike.

About IN.LIVE:

In.Live’s mission is to empower artists and their fans to create immersive moments together through the power of live digital experiences. Artists can leverage the best of live streaming technology to create captivating shared moments through the power of live music, in real-time. The team at In.Live is led by veteran entrepreneurs and technologists, who above all else love music and the creative process and who have held senior leadership roles at companies such as Apple, Microsoft, Ticket Master and Yahoo!

For more information please contact Sheridan Music Studio at info@sheridanmusicstudio.com

 Or visit: www.sheridanmusicstudio.com/young-artists-festival