A Dynamic Concert Featuring Cellist Zuill Bailey, Violinist Yi-Jia Susanne Hou, and Pianist Bryan Wallick Kicks off the International Keyboard Odyssiad® & Festival, U.S.A. 2025 Season
Fort Collins, CO – Pianists from around the world will take center stage to perform during the International Keyboard Odyssiad® & Festival, U.S.A. (IKOF) August 4 – 8, 2025, at the University Center for the Arts, Colorado State University.
Each year the IKOF brings together global competitors & internationally renowned musicians for a week-long, musically rich, creative, and exciting classical piano competition and festival. Competitors, performers, judges and audience members gather to celebrate their mutual love for classical piano. Some of the greatest talents of this generation compete in the LIVE Semifinal and Final Rounds of the Odyssiad® Competition – FREE & OPEN to the public – during the Olympic-styled competition. Finalists compete in the Solo and/or Concerto Divisions for cash prizes and the opportunity to perform with the Boulder Symphony, Devin Patrick Hughes conducting, and the Fort Collins Health & Wellness Community Orchestra.
A dynamic series of concerts is planned for the week featuring some of the most distinguished and trailblazing keyboard virtuosos and specialists of our time, including several in the pantheon of all-time great pianists: A special evening of chamber music with Concert Violinist Yi-Jia Susanne Hou, Grammy Award-winning Cellist Zuill Bailey, & Horowitz Gold Medal Pianist Bryan Wallick; Yaron Kohlberg, Concert pianist, President and CEO of Piano Cleveland and the Cleveland International Piano Competition); Dongni Xie, 2017 Odyssiad® Gold Medalist; Charlotte Hu, Founder and Director of the Philadelphia Young Pianist Academy & Associate Professor at the Boston Conservatory – Berklee; and the 2025 Van Cliburn Silver Medalist (TBD June 2025). Additional guest artists include the legendary Russian pianist and teacher, Mikhail Voskresensky, former Head of the Piano Faculty at the Moscow Conservatory.
A number of events throughout the week will engage and connect the Fort Collins community including:
Monday, August 4 – 8 : LIVE Semifinal & Final Rounds: All Solo and Concerto Division Rounds
Semifinalists compete for a spot in the final round during fierce competition. Finalists battle for Gold, Silver & Bronze medals & cash prizes during the Final rounds of the Odyssiad® competition. The competition is free & open to the public. 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., Griffin Concert Hall, Organ Recital Hall, Runyan Music Hall.
These incredible Final Round performances will be live streamed on www.odyssiad.com. For full details & the complete schedule, visit www.odyssiad.com.
August 4 – 8: Headline Performances
August 4, 7:30 PM – Chamber Music with Piano: Violinist Yi-Jia Susanne Hou (Concert Violinist), Cellist Zuill Bailey (Grammy award-winning Cellist), and Brian Wallick (Horowitz Gold Medal Pianist). Griffin Concert Hall, University Center for the Arts, Colorado State University.
August 6, 7:30 PM– Yaron Kohlberg (World-renowned pianist, Steinway artist, and President and CEO of Piano Cleveland and the Cleveland International Piano Competition). Organ Recital Hall, University Center for the Arts, Colorado State University.
August 7, 7:30 PM –Two concerts for the price of one! Dongni Xie – Solo Piano – 7:30 PM, (2017 Odyssiad® Gold Medalist) and Charlotte Hu – Solo Piano – 8:30 PM (Founder and Director of the Philadelphia Young Pianist Academy & Associate Professor at the Boston Conservatory – Berklee). Organ Recital Hall, University Center for the Arts, Colorado State University.
August 8, 7:30 PM – 2025 Van Cliburn Silver Medalist, Piano. Fresh from winning Silver at the 2025 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, Fort Worth, Texas. Who will it be? (TBD June 2025) Organ Recital Hall, University Center for the Arts, Colorado State University.
IKOF is the largest and most important international competition and festival for pianists in the state of Colorado and is recognized around the U.S. and abroad. For more information on Odyssiad® performances, competitive events, festival sessions & presentations, or how to get involved, please visit www.odyssiad.com
To purchase tickets to Evening Concerts, please visit https://csuartstickets.com
Adults: $38 pp; Students: $17 pp; Youth 12 & Under – FREE
About the International Keyboard Odyssiad® & Festival, U.S.A. (IKOF) – IKOF is dedicated to promoting new generations of young keyboard artists through an internationally linked competition and festival. The IKOF extends its reach through Odyssiad® in the Community (OTC), free educationally infused concerts featuring internationally acclaimed pianists and the festival’s competitors and winners. The additional programming enhances the artistic vitality of Fort Collins and ensures year-round access to live piano music for all demographics. With the exception of a small source of part-time contract support, the IKOF is entirely managed and produced by a dedicated team of volunteers.