2026 UCCS Piano Festival

Two days of events celebrating the instruments, its music and artists

Jan 30-31, 2026
University of Colorado Colorado Springs
Presented by the Department of Visual & Performing Arts, Music Program, in partnership with the Colorado Springs Philharmonic
Ent Center for the Arts
 
Piano provided by Piano Warehouse, Colorado Springs.
Questions? Contact Yvonne Wu (ywu@uccs.edu) or Kelly Zuercher (kzuerche@uccs.edu)
 
All events except Philharmonic concerts are free and open to the public! Reservations required. Tickets here.

Friday, January 30th

7:30pm Pikes Peak Piano Stars
An evening of piano music featuring distinguished faculty pianists from the region, including Susan Grace (Colorado College), Zahari Metchkov (CSU Pueblo), Abe Minzer (PPSC), Moses Swedberg (CC), and Kelly Zuercher (UCCS)! Reserve free ticket here.
Piano keys

Saturday, January 31st

10-11:30am Masterclass with Aristo Sham
Join us for this exciting opportunity to hear from international star Aristo Sham, the newest Gold Medalist in the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, as he coaches local young pianists. Reserve free ticket here. This event is made possible by the Colorado Springs Philharmonic. 
 
1pm Student Piano Recital
A program featuring student pianists from across campuses of Southern Colorado. Reserve free ticket here.
 
3-4:30pm Talks on Piano Pedagogy and Contemporary Literature
Local educators Kelly Zuercher and John Rot share insight on teaching and composing for the piano. Reserve free ticket here.
 
7:30pm, & Feb. 1, 2:30pm Colorado Springs Philharmonic concert—Van Cliburn Champions: Mozart
Hear Mozart’s genius from two sides. Aristo Sham, Van Cliburn gold medalist, performs the radiant Piano Concerto No. 17, alive with charm and effortless grace. Then the mood shifts to the monumental “Prague” Symphony, brimming with energy and drama.
Text of event title in yellow between piano keys graphic

Faculty Pianists

Faculty pianists from the region, including Susan Grace (Colorado College), Zahari Metchkov (CSU Pueblo), Abe Minzer (PPSC), Moses Swedberg (CC), and Kelly Zuercher (UCCS) perform on the Jan 30th concert, 7:30pm.

Composer and pianist John Rot demonstrates his original work for prepared piano. 

 

up close piano keys

Aristo Sham

Pianist Aristo Sham exudes astounding intellect and a deep emotional resonance; a cultivated sophistication and an immediately engaging presence; a penchant to take on the great monuments of the piano repertoire and a natural, infectious spontaneity. This makeup is fueled by a fascination with the world and its rich cultures: he was an international prodigy, is a voracious student of wide-ranging interests, and currently splits his time between three continents.

At the 2025 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, Aristo found his breakthrough moment, taking home both the gold medal and the audience award at “one of the most prestigious contests in classical music” (The New York Times, June 2022). And the critics showered him with imaginative praise, calling him “a marvel of deft characterization,” “consistently authoritative,” “a card-carrying risk taker,” “a dapper, aristocratic figure on stage,” “a pianist I look forward to hearing again” (The Dallas Morning News, Gramophone, Texas Classical Voice). In just two months’ time, he was mentioned in more than 800 news articles, and his Van Cliburn performance videos were streamed 2 million times across 125 countries.

aristo sham playing piano in an auditorium

Students

Student pianists from across campuses of Southern Colorado

UCCS campus