An internationally known pianist will be in the spotlight on Sunday at Martha-Ellen Tye Recital Hall located in Music Hall.

Antonio Pompa-Baldi will perform at 7:30 p.m. for Ames and Iowa State in conjunction with the Department of Music and Ames Town and Gown Chamber Music Association.

Pompa-Baldi emerged from the 11th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2001 and walked away with a coveted silver medal.

“The Cliburn Competition is the most prestigious piano competition in the world,” says Linda Hagge, vice president of Town and Gown Chamber Music Association. “It’s an honor to just be a finalist as much as a medalist.”

The Town and Gown Chamber Music Association had several members watch Pompa-Baldi at the Cliburn Competition last year and they “were just stunned,” Hagge says.

“We were thrilled to hear that [Pompa-Baldi] was going to play here in Ames,” Hagge says.

Pompa-Baldi has toured the United States and Europe appearing in many major venues in Milan, Philadelphia, New York and Paris. Pompa-Baldi also performed this summer with the Boston Pops Orchestra and was featured at the internationally acclaimed Chopin Festival in Duznicki, Poland.

Pompa-Baldi will perform a wide array of music Sunday evening, showing off his talent and versatility.

The program will include Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “Sonata in F Major,” Frederic Chopin’s “Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor,” Claude Debussy’s “Suite Bergamesque” and Rachmaninoff’s virtuoso “Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor.”

Every year, Town and Gown Chamber Music Association features a pianist in its series of concerts.

“The award brought [Pompa-Baldi] to our attention,” says Karl Gwiasda, president of Town and Gown Chamber Music Association. “We were happy that [Pompa-Baldi’s] availability and cost were just right for us.”

The Town and Gown Chamber Music Association has been a part of Ames and Iowa State for 53 years, Gwiasda says.

“[Town and Gown] was started in the 1950s by people who wanted quality chamber music here in Ames,” Gwiasda says. “Town and Gown became the organization that could do all the work needed in booking and scheduling for concerts.”

The name “Town and Gown” refers to the city of Ames and Iowa State and encourages people of Ames and students of Iowa State to attend concerts hosted by Town and Gown, Gwiasda says.

“Not too many students have much of an awareness about chamber music,” Gwiasda says. “We want [students] to know they can attend any of our concerts throughout the year.”

Town and Gown offers free admission for all ISU students interested in attending.

“Our goal is to develop an audience,” Gwiasda says. “[Students] who don’t know much about chamber music may develop an interest and it won’t cost them anything.”

In addition to the concert, Pompa-Baldi will give a presentation at “Keyboard Day” on Saturday morning, giving a chance for high school students, teachers and parents to talk to Pompa-Baldi and be critiqued as well.

“It will pretty much be a master class,” Hagge says.

“Part of Town and Gown is not just presenting the concerts, but also an educational experience,” Gwiasda says.

Tickets for the public will be available for purchase at the door for $20 and are available at Rieman Music, 409 Douglas St.; Big Table Books, 330 Main St.; and the Iowa State music department office.

Students are admitted free with an ID, and free student tickets are available at the same locations.

“Students can get their tickets ahead of time so they can know they are guaranteed a seat just in case,” Gwiasda says. “Sunday night will definitely be an evening of top-notch piano playing.”