Texas Tech University Keyboard Area

Congratulations, Elias!

Congratulations to pianist Elías Manzo, the 2026 Texas Tech School of Music Concerto Competition winner! 🎵

Elías delivered an exceptional performance of Franz Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major. As the winner, he will have the honor of performing with the University Symphony Orchestra in the 2026-2027 academic year.

We'd also like to recognize the outstanding performances of each competitor, our wonderful judges, and the faculty and staff who make an event like this possible.

Wreck 'em!

This weekend we hosted our annual PianoFest, which brought to our campus over 60 (!) young pianists, many representing the West Texas music community. Participants enjoyed a Friday evening Piano Extravaganza concert and took part in festival and competitive events on Saturday, culminating with an afternoon winner's concert and masterclass. We thank our event coordinator, Dr. Se-Hee Jin, all of the student workers, independent teachers, parents, performers, competitors, TTU School of Music staff, and our sponsor Steinway & Sons for making PianoFest a huge success. See you all next year!

Our annual piano area concerto competition took place yesterday afternoon in Hemmle Recital Hall. Excellent performances were given by Artur Mikhlin, Lingxi Xu, Ana Diaz, Elias Manzo, and Diego Lizaola and their collaborators.

CONGRATULATIONS to runner-up, Artur, and our winner, Elias, both students of Prof. Daniel del Pino. Elias will now go on to compete with Liszt's Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major in TTU's school-wide competition later this semester for a chance to perform with the University Symphony Orchestra.

Much gratitude goes out to our adjudicators: Dr. Marina Bengoa, Dr. Adonis Gonzalez, and Maestro Lanfranco Marcelletti!

Tune in THIS Friday at 11 am EST to hear Drs. Miri Park and Hideki Isoda talk about some new, very cool technology that can be applied in music-learning environments!

More info in the link:

Recent Music Research - From Touch to Technology: A Tactile Feedback Device as a Pedagogical Tool in Piano Education Tactile feedback has long been central to piano teaching with teachers often relying on physical touch to adjust posture and guide technical coordination in ways that words or demonstrations alone…