Nathan Dunn
Special to the Citizen
Since six years of age, Kenny Broberg has worked hard to become one of the top piano players around.
“It’s really been the only thing that I’ve wanted to do as a career,” Broberg said.
Now, after four years as a graduate student in Park University’s International Center for Music, Broberg could be named the best young pianist in the nation. He is one of the five finalists in the American Pianists Association’s (APA) 2021 American Pianists Awards later this month.
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The road to getting there hasn’t been easy. He is the first in his family to pursue a career as a musician, but he has been relentless in his pursuit of classical piano since his youth. Even with the challenges in recent times, he is ready for the challenge.
“It’s been different this time because everything’s been so up in the air with the pandemic,” Broberg said. “It’s required the need to be flexible because things change so quickly. Other than that, I like to think of it as just another performance.”
Originally from Minneapolis, Minn., Broberg enjoyed playing baseball and hockey in his high school years, with a greater focus on baseball. Broberg said he still follows both sports closely and appreciates the lessons he learned from athletics.
This won’t be the first time that Broberg will take the stage with a lot on the line. He has previously performed in front of actor Matthew McConaughey and singer and actress Jennifer Holliday. Broberg was a bronze medalist at the 2019 International Tchaikovsky Competition and a silver medalist at the 2017 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition.
“I’ve been lucky to play in some big competitions and play in Australia, Russia, a lot of places,” Broberg said. “I’ve had the opportunity to go to a lot of places that I never would have had the opportunity to go to if it wasn’t for piano.”
Broberg has been happy with his time at Park, learning under the guidance of instructor and 2001 Van Cliburn gold medalist Stanislav Ioudenitch since coming to Park in 2016.
“I think it was absolutely the right move,” Broberg said. “I think he’s helped me grow a lot as a musician. I’m very grateful to be here.”
The pandemic forced the APA to alter their plans, which originally included the competition to take place across a 13-month timespan from March of 2020 until April of 2021. Organizers adjusted the schedule to June of 2021 with a shorter timespan and rewarded each of the five finalists with a cash prize of $50,000.
The final process began last month when each of the finalists recorded solo recitals. Broberg’s recital will premiere on Sunday, June 20, at 2:30 p.m on americanpianists.org.
Each of the finalists will then travel to Indianapolis to perform a chamber music recital with the Dover Quartet on Friday, June 25, followed by a concerto performance with the Indianapolis Symphony on Saturday and a final concert with a short solo piece on Sunday, concluding with the announcement of the competition’s winner.
The winner of this competition will receive the Christel DeHaan Classical Fellowship, which is valued at more than $100,000. The winner will also receive career assistance for two years, concerti and solo recitals worldwide, an artist-in-residence post at the University of Indianapolis and a recording contract with Steinway and Sons record label.
If Broberg is named the winner of this competition, he said it would just be another “stepping stone” for building a lasting career.
“What I’m trying to build is something permanent, not just a couple years,” Broberg said. “It would be fantastic, but I have bigger goals in life, too.”