The 2026 East Carolina Piano Festival opens on Saturday, bringing four extraordinary pianists to the stage of A.J. Fletcher Recital Hall.
East Carolina Piano Festival Program and Artistic Director Keiko Sekino started the event in 2018. The ECU Associate Professor of Piano is an accomplished global chamber musician, and she says opening night spotlights a mix of local and visiting talent.
“The first concert is going to be featuring four pianists,” she said, “And that's some of our ECU faculty, Quan Yi, Sam Ginger, and then guest artists, Adam Wu and Yukiko Sekino.”
One of those visiting artists is an award-winning pianist from MIT who shares a lifelong connection with the festival director. Keiko says growing up under the same roof didn't mean the sisters developed the same musical style.
“Both of us are pianists, and we grew up, of course, in the same household, but we have very different personalities,” she explained, “And I'm always surprised by how much strength and how much emotions she brings to her performances. So, every time I hear her, I'm just really taken aback by the depth of her musicianship.”
On Tuesday evening, the stage belongs to a masterpiece Franz Schubert composed during the final year of his life. Keiko will perform the piece, widely considered one of the greatest masterpieces ever written for piano four-hands, alongside guest artist and lifelong friend Wei-Yi Yang; she expects the music to linger with the audience long after they leave.
“The Fantasy has this recurring theme that just, that doesn't leave you and probably everyone will sort of walk away sort of singing this melody as they're walking home or walking to their car,” Keiko said. “Schubert is one of my favorite composers and someone that I just really appreciate in a way each day more and more because he has such a melodic sense, and also his music is so very personal, and especially as I grow older, it really touches me. It's a pleasure also for me to play this piece with Wei-Yi, who has been a friend since our school days.”
While professionals dominate the early schedule, the festival later pivots toward its broader mission. Keiko said the event doubles as an intense training ground for the next generation.
She said, “The participants in our Young Artists program, who are sort of the rising younger pianists, they also perform at the end of the week. So, basically the second really purpose of the festival is to be a training program for upcoming pianists, ranging in age from rising 6th graders all the way through age 26 or past sort of graduate degrees.”
For the director, teaching these students goes far beyond standard classroom instruction. Keiko said, “It's a really special process. And when we work with music, it's such a personal relationship with them. It's usually one musician to another, and that's usually a special relationship regardless of age difference or background. And it's a really special way to get to know people.”
The 2026 Piano Festival concerts are:
- Saturday, June 27, 7:30 p.m. — Festival Opening Concert, featuring guest and faculty artists Sam Gingher, Yukiko Sekino, Alan Woo and Kwan Yi — ticketed.
- Tuesday, June 30, 7:30 p.m. — Wei-Yi Yang in Recital, Keiko Sekino,— ticketed.
- Thursday, July 2, 7:30 p.m. — Stephen Beus in Recital — ticketed.
- Sunday, July 5, 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. — Young Artist Program Final Concerts I and II, featuring young pianists from across the U.S. who apply and are invited to participate — free.
Individual concert tickets are $25 or $10 for students. Attend all three ticketed concerts for $60. Tickets are available now through the ECPF website. All performances will take place in the A.J. Fletcher Recital Hall at Fletcher Music Center on ECU’s main campus.
People wishing to request event accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act should contact ECU’s ADA coordinator at least 48 hours before an event at 252-737-1018 or ada-coordinator@ecu.edu.
