The Department of Music welcomes Kenny Broberg, the silver medalist at the fifteenth Van Cliburn competition in 2017, to perform an evening of the piano repertoire's most stunningly uplifting works, including music by Franck, Bach, Barber and Liszt. Mr. Broberg appears by arrangement with the Cliburn and will perform the concert on Texas Wesleyan University's new Steinway Model D, first played by Mr. Broberg at the 2017 Van Cliburn competition itself. The concert is free and open to the public and will be performed on 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 3 in Martin Hall. There is a reception to follow in Lou's Place.

A native of Minneapolis, 23-year-old pianist Kenny Broberg won the silver medal at the Fifteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition for performances that showed “an imaginative shaping of themes, revelation of inner voices, and an unfailing sense of momentum” (Texas Classical Review).

His 2017–2018 debut season as Cliburn medalist will include a recital tour in Hawaii, a return to his alma mater, the University of Houston, for its annual Texas Music Festival, and orchestra and recital engagements in Denver, New Orleans, Fort Worth, West Palm Beach, and other cities across the United States. In Europe, Mr. Broberg appears with the Rye Arts Festival and Hastings Philharmonic in the United Kingdom, and in recital in Italy. His debut solo album will be released by Decca Gold in August, as part of his Competition prizes.

Also, a prizewinner of the Hastings, Sydney, Seattle, and New Orleans International Piano Competitions, Mr. Broberg has previously performed as soloist with the Royal Philharmonic, Minnesota, Sydney Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Dallas Chamber, Fort Worth Symphony, and the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestras, among others, working with conductors Ludovic Morlot, Carlos Miguel Prieto, Leonard Slatkin, Nichola Milton, and Nicholas McGegan. His solo, chamber, and concerto performances have been broadcast on NPR and ABC (Australia) radio, and several of his performances at the 2016 Sydney International Piano Competition were included on CDs released on the Universal Music Australia label.

The first musician in his family, Mr. Broberg started piano lessons at age 6, when he was first fascinated by his mother’s upright—a wedding gift from her parents. He studied for nine years with Dr. Joseph Zins before entering the University of Houston’s Moores School of Music, where he earned a Bachelor of Music degree with Nancy Weems in 2016. He currently resides in Parkville, Missouri, under the guidance of 2001 Cliburn Gold Medalist Stanislav Ioudenitch at Park University.

 A hockey and baseball athlete in high school, he still enjoys watching and playing sports, in addition to listening to jazz and reading.