Performance: Rebecca Penneys Piano Festival

The Rebecca Penneys Piano Festival (RPPF) proudly hosts 45 Artist Students each summer, many of whom perform throughout Tampa Bay as part of the popular RPPF Satellite Concert Series. Chosen from an extraordinary pool of applicants representing countries and schools worldwide, these prize-winning collegiate pianists represent the next generation of international concert artists.

Held annually at the University of South Florida School of Music, the Festival brings students together with internationally renowned Artist Teachers for an intensive three-week residency. Over the course of the Festival, students receive the equivalent of a semester’s worth of private lessons, participate in nightly masterclasses, attend special-topic classes and faculty presentations, and perform in numerous concerts while enjoying extensive practice time on Steinway pianos.

A defining feature of RPPF is its artistic philosophy: providing aspiring concert pianists with the rare opportunity to experience a wide range of perspectives in piano pedagogy and performance within one dynamic artistic environment. Supported entirely through the generosity of private donors and dedicated volunteers, RPPF remains one of the few major international summer music programs offered completely tuition-free.

Vietnamese-American pianist Vincent Pham, age 18, graduated from Gaither High School inMay 2026. He started playing the piano at age four and studied for five years with Vladimir Khohklov. Since 2019, he has studied with Rebecca Penneys. His achievements include first prizes at the Florida Federation of Music Clubs Concerto Competitions in 2017, 2018 and 2019, and FFMC Solo in 2016 and 2019. He was also first-place winner of the Florida State Music Teachers Association Concerto Competition in 2019 and 2022. Vincent won the 2018 American Protégé Competition with a Judges’ Distinction Award. He was invited to perform at Carnegie Weill Recital Hall in 2016, 2017 and 2018. In 2019 Vincent won the FFMC Irene Muir Award for his concerto performance and performed at the NFMC Convention in Jacksonville, Florida. In May 2022, Vincent performed in the Music Concerto Hall at the University of South Florida. In 2025, he won first place at the San Francisco International Piano Competition and received a $4,000 scholarship from the Feltsman Piano Foundation. Vincent has attended festivals including PianoTexas, Bay PianoFest and Adamant Music School. He has played for Alvin Chow, HieYon Choi, Christopher Harding, Douglas Humpherys, Stanislav Ioudenitch, Dang Thai Son and Tamâs Ungár in lessons or masterclasses. This fall he will attend Oberlin Conservatory with a full tuition scholarship in Professor Dang Thai Son’s studio.

Born in Hohhot, China in 2004, Yu Qin began studying piano at the age of five with Chang Hong and continued his training at age eleven with Zhang Quming. In 2019, he was admitted to the Composition Department of the High School Affiliated to the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Yue Miao. In 2022, he was admitted simultaneously to both the Music Engineering Department and the Piano Department of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, studying with Liu Hao and Hao Duanduan, respectively. In 2023, he entered The Juilliard School in New York, where he studies with Professor Hung- Kuan Chen. Yu Qin has received numerous awards in both piano performance and composition. In 2019, he won First Prize at the 27th International Fryderyk Chopin Youth Piano Competition (China Division). In 2022, he received First Prize at the Singapore International Piano Competition (China Division). He was also awarded First Prize at the Franz Liszt International Youth Piano Competition in 2018. As a composer, he was a finalist in the 4th Academy Awards Composition Competition of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music (2019) and received a Nomination Award at the 4th “Yinzhong Prize” International Composition Competition. This is his second summer at RPPF.