The Cayman Piano Festival returns this week offering four performances by local and international talent over a 10-day period between 1 Oct. and 10 Oct. at the George Town Public Library.

The festival, which is one of CayMusicA’s three annual series of events, will kick off with Caymanian pianist and multi-instrumentalist Beneil Miller. Also slated to perform are internationally acclaimed artists Svetlana Smolina, William Chapman Nyaho and Aldo López-Gavilán.

“The Cayman Piano Festival has always been about more than bringing exceptional pianists to Cayman,” said Marius Gaina, executive director of CayMusicA. “It is about creating opportunities for audiences to experience great music, while also giving our young musicians the chance to meet, hear and learn from artists who have built international careers. This fifth edition is particularly exciting because it brings together three outstanding international artists with Caymanian talent in the opening concert.”

The festival opens at 6pm on Thursday, 1 Oct. with a special concert by Miller.

A Caymanian multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter and educator, Miller began his musical journey on guitar before taking up piano at the age of 8. He later developed his skills on bass guitar and drums and studied jazz piano and songwriting at Berklee College of Music.

For his Cayman Piano Festival performance, Miller will explore and reimagine songs from the Cayman Islands, drawing on music associated with artists and cultural figures including Julia Hydes, Edna Fields, Burnell Dixon, Helen Lambert, Dalmain Ebanks and Rachel Rankine.

His performance will offer audiences an opportunity to experience Caymanian musical traditions through the perspective of a contemporary Caymanian artist.

The festival continues on Saturday, 3 Oct. with internationally acclaimed pianist Smolina. A performer on major international stages, she has appeared at venues and festivals including Carnegie Hall, the Salzburg Festival, Hollywood Bowl, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden and Rome’s Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. Her Cayman programme will include works by Tchaikovsky, Chopin, Liszt, Gershwin, Lecuona and Balakirev.

The following week, on Thursday, 8 Oct. the festival welcomes Nyaho, a Ghanaian-born pianist, educator and passionate advocate for music by composers of African descent. He has performed internationally as a soloist and chamber musician and currently serves on the piano faculty at Pacific Lutheran University and Interlochen Center for the Arts. He is also the editor of the acclaimed five-volume Piano Music of Africa and the African Diaspora, published by Oxford University Press.

The festival concludes on Saturday, 10 Oct. with Cuban pianist, composer and improviser López-Gavilán. His music brings together classical traditions, jazz, improvisation and the musical heritage of Cuba. His international career has included performances at Carnegie Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center and Royal Festival Hall. His latest album, Emporium: Music of Aldo López-Gavilán,” was released in 2026 with the Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra.

While the public concerts form the centrepiece of the Cayman Piano Festival, education and community engagement remain an important part of the festival’s mission.

Throughout the festival, visiting artists will work with students and young musicians through school presentations, masterclasses and workshops, giving Caymanian students the opportunity to meet and learn directly from professional artists with extensive international experience.

These educational activities build on CayMusicA’s longstanding commitment to music education and its work with students across the Cayman Islands.

With all events taking place at the George Town Public Library and only 100 seats available for each concert, the Cayman Piano Festival offers audiences the opportunity to experience internationally acclaimed pianists in an intimate setting. All concerts start at 6pm and last one hour.

The festival was launched in 2022 following CayMusicA’s acquisition of a Shigeru Kawai grand piano. Over its first four editions, the festival has welcomed distinguished pianists including Peter Donohoe, Martin Roscoe, Asiya Korepanova, Artur Pizarro, Shirley Yoo, Daumants Liepiņš, Matei Varga and Konstantin Lifschitz, while also providing a platform for outstanding Caymanian and young pianists.

The fifth edition continues that tradition while expanding the festival’s focus on the relationship between international artistry, Caymanian talent and music education.

Tickets and further information are available at the CayMusicA website or by contacting enquiries@caymanartsfestival.com.