Individual Sponsors

John Layman

Third Prize Sponsor

John Layman grew up in a household where the sound of the piano was a regular part of life. His mother had formal training on the instrument but he never really learned to play. Nonetheless, the piano was a major influence in his life, and when John became involved with the Kapell Competition he had a chance to give back to his mother some of the gift of music she had given him. "Mother attended quite a number of the festivals. She and I would attend the evening recitals and the finals, and this gave her an opportunity to see and hear famous pianists from around the world, some who served as judges and some who also gave recitals. When I sponsored the third prize at the last Kapell, it was named the Margaret and Ellen Layman prize in honor of my mother and my wife."

A Professor Emeritus at the university, with a joint appointment between Physics and the Science Teaching Center within Secondary Education, John has attended most of the piano competitions since the early 1970s. His direct involvement had its roots in his membership in the Friends of the Maryland Summer Institute for the Creative and Performing Arts, which became formally associated with the piano competition in 1982.

Q: What have you learned from your involvment with the Kapell?

JL: That my work and support behind the scenes as a volunteer and contributor to all aspects of the program makes the public events richer and available to all members of the national and international piano community. I understand the milieu in which a performing arts center exists as part of an academic institution, and it's intellectually stimulating to me to watch everything here at the Center emerge and succeed. Much of my career has been in behind-the-scenes support that allows these public events to be stronger than they might have been.

Q. Do you have any favorite memories associated with the Kapell?

JL: I always marveled at the opportunity to listen to world-famous artists who served on the juries when they provided evening recitals during the competition. I also have followed the careers of some of the competitors – particularly Santiago Rodriguez, who's now on our own music faculty; Christopher Taylor, because he was a mathematician as well as a pianist and his father was associated with physics at the University of Colorado, Boulder. I also followed the career of Oleg Volkov who was the third place winner when Christopher placed first.

Q. What are your hopes and dreams for the Competition's future?

JL: To provide support, encouragement and ideas to always ensure that our events at the Center are of the highest caliber. The dream is that the Center will serve both the academic and cultural communities on campus, the cultural community in the greater Washington area and, of course especially through the Kapell, the cultural community of the world.

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