Join us for a very special return of pianist and NOIPC Laureate Kenny Broberg (Bronze Medalist 2014) in concert with duo partner and dazzling violinist Sara Dragan for an evening not to be missed!
Program information coming soon!
Tickets on sale December 1.
About the Artists
Kenny Broberg has become one of the most awarded and internationally recognized pianists of his generation. He won the bronze medal at the 2014 New Orleans International Piano Competition, the silver medal at the 2017 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, the bronze medal at the 2019 International Tchaikovsky Competition, and the Christel DeHaan Classical Fellowship as the winner of the 2021 American Piano Awards. Mr. Broberg is widely praised for his inventive, intelligent, and intense interpretations.
After his first encounter with classical music through his Italian grandfather’s love for the Three Tenors, Mr. Broberg began piano lessons at the age of 6 on the family upright piano. Raised in Minneapolis, he started formal piano studies with Dr. Joseph Zins at Crocus Hill Studios in Saint Paul. In 2016, he earned his Bachelor of Music degree from the Moores School of Music at the University of Houston, where he studied with Nancy Weems. He later continued his studies at Park University in Parkville, Missouri. Deeply committed to teaching, he has served as artist-in-residence at Indiana University, associate professor of piano at the Reina Sofía School of Music in Madrid, and professor of piano at the Katarina Gurska Centro Superior de Música.
Having performed on stages and in concert halls across five continents, Mr. Broberg has collaborated with many of the world’s most respected conductors, including Ludovic Morlot, Kent Nagano, Leonard Slatkin, Vasily Petrenko, Nicholas Milton, John Storgårds, Michael Sanderling, Carlos Miguel Prieto, Alexander Sladkowsky, Gerard Schwarz, and Nicholas McGegan. He has appeared with numerous orchestras, including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the symphony orchestras of Minnesota, Montreal, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Sydney, Seattle, Fort Worth, and the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra among many others. He is also a passionate chamber musician, both as a performer and educator. His chamber music partners include the Dover, Guarneri, Escher, Calidore, and Goldberg String Quartets, as well as numerous duo collaborations. Mr. Broberg has been featured on WQXR, Performance Today, Minnesota Public Radio, and ABC (Australia). He is increasingly active as a composer and conductor, and presented his original composition Barcarolle on NPR in March 2021.
His recordings have been released on Decca Gold, Warner Classics, the Steinway label, and Universal Music Australia. His album Songbird, recorded with violinist Maria Ioudenitch, received the Chamber Music Recording Award at the 2023 Opus Klassik Awards. His most recent album was recorded with violinist Sara Dragan and is titled Godowsky: Timeless.
Sara Dragan is a multi-award-winning, next-generation violin soloist, acclaimed as one of the most outstanding artists of her generation, known for her virtuosity, intense expression, and magnetic stage presence. She began studying the violin at the age of seven under the guidance of her parents and later became a protégé of the legendary Professor Zakhar Bron. Maestro Marek Pijarowski described her as “a talent that emerges only once in many years — a charismatic artist who inspires fellow musicians and captivates audiences with grace and emotion.” In 2025, Maxim Vengerov praised her for her “impeccable technique.”
She studied at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Madrid, the Stauffer Academy in Cremona, and the Karol Lipiński Academy of Music in Wrocław. She is a scholarship recipient of the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. Sara performs on an old fine Italian violin generously loaned by Johnatan Solars Fine Violins and has throughout the years been supported by Florian Leonhard Fine Violins.
Among her most significant recent achievements is First Prize at the International Princess Astrid Competition in Trondheim, a member of the World Federation of International Music Competitions (WFIMC). She is also a laureate of over 60 first prizes at prestigious international competitions, including Oistrakh, Novosibirsk, and the H. Wieniawski & K. Lipiński International Violin Competitions.
She has performed in many of the world’s most renowned concert halls, including the Berlin Philharmonie, Carnegie Hall, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Auditorio Nacional de Música, and the Konzerthaus Berlin.
Sara collaborates with leading orchestras worldwide and has appeared regularly as a soloist since the age of eight, performing with ensembles such as the NFM Wrocław Philharmonic, Silesian Philharmonic, Prague Symphony Orchestra, Zurich Chamber Philharmonic, Neue Philharmonie Westfalen, Prague Chamber Orchestra, Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, Presidential Symphony Orchestra, Slovak Sinfonietta, Orchestre Philharmonique du Maroc, Tel Aviv Soloists Ensemble, Hanoi Philharmonic Orchestra, Sinfonia Iuventus, Armenian State Symphony Orchestra, and the Kazakh State Symphony Orchestra, performing extensively throughout Europe, North America, and Asia.
In 2022, she embarked on her U.S. tour presenting 30 performances of violin concertos by P. I. Tchaikovsky and H. Wieniawski under the baton of Wojciech Rodek, together with the Polish Wieniawski Philharmonic Orchestra.
She has appeared at numerous prestigious festivals, including the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Interlaken Classics, the Henryk Wieniawski Festival, the Busan MARU International Music Festival in South Korea, and the “Emanations” Festival at the Krzysztof Penderecki European Centre for Music.
In 2025 together with pianist Kenny Broberg, she released the album Godowsky: Timeless for the DUX label, further expanding her discography and artistic collaborations.
This concert is presented with support from Richard Goula | The Thistlewood Foundation, WWNO Classical Network.