Penshurst Church is delighted to welcome the European Piano Teachers Association who will be holding the Kent heat of its 2025 Piano Competition during the afternoon of Sunday February 9th. Various categories of performer will compete in a number of stages through the afternoon and you are welcome to come and listen to these for free. When the competition ends, at around 5pm, it will be followed by a recital from the two national winners of the competition in 2024, Ameli Sakai-Ivanova and Yazdi Madon.   The concert will begin at 6.00 pm and will contain works by Bach, Scarlatti, Beethoven, Chopin, Debussy and Kapustin.  There will be a bar offering drinks during the concert and in the afternoon tea and coffee will be available.

Ameli Sakai-Ivanova

Ameli is studying the piano under the guidance of Nancy Litten and obtained LTCL diploma with distinction in 2023.  She performed a solo debut recital at the age of 14 in Sofia, Bulgaria, the Chopin Piano Concerto No. 1 in March 2024 with Vidin Symphony Orchestra in two cities and Mozart Piano Concerto No.12 with the Sofia Soloists Chamber Orchestra in Sofia the same year.  In 2025 Ameli is due to perform in Winchester , Warsaw, , and at the Steinway Hall in London. Ameli has won numerous awards, such as the 1st Prize at EPTA UK, the Maidstone Music Festival’s Young Musician of the Year, and recital prizes at the Steinway Hall in recent years. 

Yazdi Madon

Yazdi grew up in Buckinghamshire and  has studied with Patsy Toh at the Purcell School for Young Musicians since 2017. Yazdi has won awards at national and international competition. He has been invited to play as a concert recitalist at a variety of events and venues; personal highlights being performances at Mozarteum, Musikverein, Elgar Room, Bozar and Lincoln’s Inn. He also participated in the Purcell Piano Department tour of Scotland, Italy and Romania, which showcased works by Rachmaninoff. Yazdi is also a keen chamber musician and recent projects include accompanying the Purcell Choir in performances of Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana and Mozart’s Requiem; and performing songs from Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire at the Wigmore Hall.