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Founded in 2020, Settenote aims to promote the study of music and the growth of young musicians by creating new avenues for performance and artistic expression. A vision for harnessing the power of art and culture as a means of connecting people throughout the world led to the creation of the Online Piano International Competition, an event held entirely through video submissions. Our first competition was completed in August 2020. Applications for the 2024 Settenote Online Piano International Competition are now closed. Visit the SOPIC page for details on regulations, awards and our international jury!
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Gjergji Gaqi, Co-Founder & Artistic Director
Piro Gaqi, Co-Founder & Executive Director
​​​​​​​​​Equally at home in solo and collaborative music, pianist Gjergji Gaqi maintains an active performing career throughout North America and Europe. He studied piano and chamber music under Prof. Dario de Rosa and Prof. Alberto Miodini at the International School of Chamber Music "Trio di Trieste" in Duino (Italy), while completing the bilingual International Baccalaureate diploma. A Summa
Cum Laude graduate of Colby College as a Music major and Economics minor, Gaqi won the Colby Concerto Competition, studying with Cheryl Tschanz (piano) and Jonathan Hallstrom (composition). Gaqi received his graduate degrees at the University of Michigan under the guidance of Christopher Harding and John Ellis, while pursuing additional studies in jazz piano with Ellen Rowe. Dr. Gaqi is currently Assistant Professor of Piano at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, with previous appointments at Tyler Junior College, Siena Heights University, College of the Mainland, Brazosport College and the University of Michigan. He is a frequent masterclass clinician, presenter and adjudicator of festivals and competitions, and has formerly served in many capacities with the East Texas Music Teachers Association, including as president and chair of the Helen Elbert Collaborative Music Festival.
​​​​​​Dr. Piro Gaqi is currently Lect. Dr. at the Faculty of Arts of the University Dunarea de Jos of Galati (Romania). Previously, he has taught piano and chamber music as a member of the faculties of the Academy of the Arts in Tirana (Albania) and the State University of Tetovo (Macedonia). Mr. Gaqi was born into a musical family in Tirana, Albania. He has a long international performing career in both Europe and North America, including recitals as part of the Gaqi Piano Duo, which he co-founded with his brother, Gjergji Gaqi. Dr. Gaqi completed his undergraduate and graduate studies in Piano Performance at the National University of Music in Bucharest, under the tutelage of Prof. Delia Pavlovici and Prof. Camelia Pavlenco. He completed a second Master's degree at the University of Montreal, studying Instrumental Accompanying with Prof. Jean-Eudes Vaillancourt. Additionally, he has completed residencies in Luxembourg, the Netherlands and France, working with distinguished pedagogues such as Gérard Frémy, Béatrice Rauchs, Hans Vroomans and others. His doctoral studies, under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Șerban Dimitrie Soreanu at the National University of Music in Bucharest, focused on the piano chamber music of Southeast European composers.
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