Cleveland International Piano Semi-Finalist Jonathan Mamora visited the University of Akron in a collaboration with Piano Cleveland for an 11-day residency, from Feb. 18 to Feb. 28.

The 11-day residency at the University of Akron helped high school and college students grow their skills and connect with professional musicians. Mamora led applied teaching sessions on campus as well as a private event with Akron Public Schools’ I Promise School.

“Working with Mamora was a pleasure. He gave such insightful comments on the phrasing for our trio, and helped us improve our sound greatly,” said Sam Wagner, a student at the University of Akron. “His comments gave us the ability to put Mendelssohn’s story into our performance.”

The residency also marked the first collaboration between Jonathan Mamora and Mayumi Kikuchi, senior lecturer in the music department at the University of Akron.

Kikuchi encountered Mamora at the Cleveland International Piano Competition where he placed as a semi-finalist. She invited him to campus but wanted to bring him to the community as well.

“I organized this [the UA Piano and String Small Ensemble Seminar] and then I said, ‘how can we use this wonderful opportunity for him to be here and how can we include community?’ and what obvious way about a better way to have a collaborative environment than a piano based event?” said Mayumi Kikuchi.

Featured events for the rest of the 11-day line up included a UA String and Piano Small Ensemble Seminar and a live performance from the Kulas Concert Series at Guzzetta Recital Hall, made possible by Piano Cleveland and The Kulas Foundation.

“I value education, and I think of it as beyond just performing the music,” Jonathan Mamora, said. “I find that there’s a huge responsibility, I think, for performing musicians to help those that are growing and developing and learning as well because we are still trying to keep these traditions alive to sort of figure out what traditions do we break, what things do we uphold on, and all these sorts of things to keep this art rich and relevant.”

Jonathan Mamora and Mayumi Kikuchi also cooperated on a musical co-presentation on Johann Christian Bach in the community at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.

Students interested in performances at the University of Akron Music Department can visit uakron.edu/music to learn more about upcoming programs.