Some of the best young pianists in the world soon will arrive at Kansas University to compete, practice and learn – and the city is invited to watch and listen.

The International Institute for Young Musicians Summer Music Academy, including its elite annual piano competition, attracts about 100 of the most promising pianists ages 11 to 18, said Scott McBride Smith, institute president.

“They’re going to be the next generation of concert pianists,” Smith said. “You get a chance to see them grow, see them mature.”

The academy runs from Monday through July 27 at KU and features near-nightly recitals, which are free and open to the public, in Murphy Hall and the Lied Center.

The piano competition, which is Sunday and Monday at the Lied Center, also is free.

The KU School of Fine Arts hosts the academy, which is in its seventh year at KU. It spent an earlier six-year stint at KU in the 1990s.

But Smith, a KU alumnus, said the academy’s biggest draw each year is the piano competition winners’ concert, set for 7:30 p.m. July 8 at the Lawrence Arts Center. The concert, which is the only event with an admission charge, costs $12 for adults and $7 for students and seniors. Smith said Lawrence had been supportive of the concert and other institute events.

Jack Winerock, a KU piano professor who teaches at the institute, suggested picking up tickets for the winners’ concert at the arts center soon because it tends to sell out.

“A lot of people will be just shocked at how professional these kids are,” Winerock said. “Once people come, they keep coming.”

The 14 semifinalists for this year’s competition, chosen from a pool of about 40 who sent in audition videos, come from throughout the country as well as Canada and China.

“Very often they might be the stars in their city and community,” Winerock said. “But here they find people who love to do the same thing that they do.”

The students will spend their time at KU attending classes, taking lessons and practicing three to five hours a day.

“We have to almost force them to have recreation,” Smith said.

They also will have recitals, usually about an hour long, every weeknight from Thursday to July 26. Wednesday recitals are at 7 p.m. at the Lied Center; other nights, the recitals are 6:30 p.m. in Swarthout Recital Hall at Murphy Hall.

The piano competition semifinals are 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday, and the finals are 3 p.m.-8 p.m. Monday. Audience members may arrive and leave as much as they like during the competition at the Lied Center.