Boston Piano Amateurs Association (BPAA) Festival

Join us for a FREE event of inspiring music, learning, and performance at the BPAA’s 2025 Piano Festival and 25th Year Anniversary Celebration. The program begins with a masterclass series led by distinguished pianist and teacher Tim McFarland, who will work closely with six talented participants to refine their interpretations and deepen their artistry. The featured masterclass performers, Chia Ying Lee, Ramona Leeman, Robert Berkowitz, Carl Di Casoli, Kevin Schwarz, and Robert Finley, will present works by Bach, Schubert, Chopin and Ravel. Audience members will get to observe the teaching process and witness the craft of shaping music in real time.

Following the masterclass, we invite you to stay for the recital program, where 24 of our BPAA members will showcase their polished performances. The recital features solo and duo piano works spanning Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and contemporary repertoire, including women composers and own compositions by some of our BPAA members.

Come celebrate a day where teaching meets performance, and artistry comes alive on stage.

Masterclass Faculty

Tim McFarland, a former student of Russell Sherman, performs frequently in the Boston area as a recitalist, soloist with orchestra, and as chamber music collaborator. He has premiered works by Robert Ceeley, Peter Lieberson, David Patterson, and Daniel Pinkham. Mr. McFarland is a Senior Lecturer of Performing Arts at the University of Massachusetts Boston, and serves as the Music Director of the Belmont Symphony Orchestra. He is a faculty member and former director of the New School of Music and is also an Affiliate Artist at MIT.

Masterclass Participants

Chia Ying Lee
Principal Research Scientist, MSI
Bach, Prelude and Fugue in E-flat minor, BWV 853

Ramona Leeman
Professor of Dentistry
Schubert, Sonata in A Major, D.664 Op. 120, 3rd mvt.

Robert Berkowitz
Psychiatrist
Chopin, Sonata in B minor, Op. 58, 2nd and 3rd mvts.

Carl Di Casoli
Senior Director in Biometrics, Pharma
Ravel, Scarbo

Kevin Schwarz
Software Engineer, Disney
Chopin, Etudes Op. 25 No. 1 and No. 6

Robert Finley
Retired Engineer
Ravel, Le Tombeau de Couperin (Prelude and Rigaudon)

Event Schedule

• Masterclass Series 9am – 12pm
• Recital 12:45pm – 3:30pm
• Awards 3:30pm