The environment of high expectations coupled with the encouraging, family-like atmosphere, is unique to the Palmetto International Piano Festival. Many other festivals are very lax in their approach or, on the opposite side of the spectrum, have too much of a competitive feel to them. The small size of the Palmetto festival allows for a lot of individual attention for each participant, and the guest artists work closely with each student. The opportunity for all participants to perform three or more times is also unique to PIPF. We aim to foster excellence without encouraging any sort of competitive element in this festival. We like to think of all participants as part of the same musical family for two weeks, pursuing excellence in piano playing together.
The day will begin with group exercise and/or meditation. A family-style breakfast will follow. There are two practice sessions, one morning practice session and one afternoon session. Each session will be monitored by our assistant faculty. In addition, each day there will be a special event, such as a master class, a miniature course, or an outing. The evenings will consist of attending guest artist recitals, or other special events, such as performance classes or group and social activities. Participants are closely monitored throughout the day and will move around as a group.
The closest airport is Greenville-Spartanburg airport or GSP. Festival participants who fly into this airport will be offered transportation to the college.
Dormitory facilities have laundry facilities and full shared kitchens, as well as shared bathrooms. Our assistant faculty stay in the dorms and monitor the boarding participants.
