By Mike Telin
When the Cleveland International Piano Competition set out to plan its 50th anniversary in 2024, CIPC president Yaron Kohlberg knew that some changes needed to be made.
“A lot has changed in the classical music world during the past 50 years,” Kohlberg said in an interview prior to that year’s competition. He added that the changes that were made were designed to create more and better ways for CIPC to serve the contestants, the audience, and the community at large.
One of the many alterations that Kohlberg and his team implemented was in the Competition’s prize structure, which featured a new artist development program that was open to all contestants. The program offers mentorship opportunities with leading pianists, faculty, and innovators in the classical music world, and short courses in personal branding and social media, fundraising, artist finances, and similar topics, offered in partnership with Young Concert Artists. It also included residencies at Northeast Ohio universities.
From February 18 through 28 Pianist Jonathan Mamora will serve as artist-in-residence at The University of Akron School of Performing Arts. During his residency, he will present workshops, deliver lectures, and give a free public recital. These events are made possible through a partnership with Piano Cleveland and The Kulas Foundation.
Indonesian-American pianist and educator Jonathan Mamora is celebrated for his expressive playing and commitment to service through music. As a performer he has built an impressive international career, earning top prizes at major piano competitions such as the Scottish International Piano Competition and Cleveland International Piano Competition, as well as winning praise for his Carnegie Hall debut.
In addition to performing, Mamora is dedicated to music education and community engagement. He has served as a church music director, collaborative pianist, and multi-instrumentalist, and has taught at the Eastman School of Music and The Juilliard School. Currently Director of Keyboard Studies at La Sierra University in Riverside, California. He is pursuing his Doctor of Musical Arts at Eastman.
“We are incredibly excited to continue our partnership with CIPC through this residency,” Todd Gaffke, Interim Director of the School of Performing Arts, said in a press release. “Jonathan Mamora is a world-class artist who will bring a tremendous amount of value to our students and community.”
During his time on the University of Akron campus Mamora will be teaching applied students (February 18, 23, and 25).
On February 19 he will give a private K-12 masterclass in collaboration with Tuesday Musical and the Middle East District Ohio Music Teachers Association.
February 20 will find him presenting a Spiriocast Masterclass in collaboration with Baldwin Wallace Conservatory and Youngstown State University from 9:00 am to 10:30 am in Guzzetta Recital Hall. Later that afternoon Mamora will visit Akron Public Schools’ Miller South where he will give a masterclass and a recital.
On February 26 he will take part in a private event at the Akron Public Schools’ I Promise School.
Mamora’s Akron residency will conclude on Saturday, February 28 with a visit to Tuesday Musical’s Brahms Allegro Junior Music Club Meeting at 3:00 pm.
At 4:30 pm at Akron’s St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, he will join University of Akron piano faculty Mayumi Kikuchi in a co-presentation on Johann Christian Bach. A reception will follow.
There are also two other opportunities to hear Jonathan Mamora in recital.
On Tuesday February 24 at 12 noon in the Ames Family Atrium at the Cleveland Museum of Art, his free recital is part of Piano Cleveland Live.
And on Friday, February 27, at 7:30 pm, he will present a free recital as part of the Kulas Concert Series in the University of Akron’s Guzzetta Recital Hall.
In a press release, CIPC Executive Director Marissa Moore said that “what sets the Cleveland International Piano Competition apart from its peers are the opportunities we provide for our laureates. Partnering with University of Akron allows Piano Cleveland to give our artists like Jonathan unique teaching opportunities, while enriching the arts in Northeast Ohio.”
Published on ClevelandClassical.com February 17, 2026
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