Crane School of Music Hosts Renowned Pianist Awadagin Pratt in Concert

SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music Welcomes Acclaimed Pianist Awadagin Pratt for Upcoming Performance & Masterclass

Potsdam, NY (02/19/2020) — SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music is proud to welcome the world-renowned concert pianist Awadagin Pratt for an upcoming performance and masterclass.

"Awadagin Pratt has played with world-renowned orchestras, performed at the White House, and is very active and recognized internationally as a concert pianist and a pedagogue," said Dr. Young-Ah Tak, associate professor of piano and artistic director of the Crane International Piano Festival. "This is a rare opportunity to hear such a great artist."

To kick off his visit, Pratt will lead a masterclass with Crane School of Music piano students on Friday, Feb. 28 at 4 p.m., in the Helen M. Hosmer Concert Hall.

Pratt will present a solo recital on Sunday, March 1 at 7:30 p.m. in the Sara M. Snell Music Theater. In his Potsdam performance, Pratt will perform Ludwig van Beethoven's "Piano Sonata No. 31, Op. 110," César Franck's "Prelude, Chorale and Fugue," and Franz Liszt's "Piano Sonata in B-Minor."

Both events are free, and the public is invited to attend.

About the performer:

Born in Pittsburgh, Awadagin Pratt began studying piano at the age of six, eventually enrolling at the Peabody Institute and becoming the first student in the school's history to receive diplomas in the three performance areas of piano, violin and conducting. He won the Naumburg International Piano Competition in 1992 and received the Avery Fisher Career Grant for outstanding instrumentalists in 1994. Pratt is acclaimed for his musical insight and intensely involving performances. He has played numerous recitals throughout the United States, including performances at Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, Chicago's Orchestra Hall and the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. His many orchestral performances include appearances with the New York Philharmonic, Minnesota Orchestra, and the Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Baltimore, St. Louis, National, Detroit and New Jersey symphonies, among many others. Pratt has performed three times at the White House during the Clinton and Obama administrations. His tours have taken him around the globe. Pratt is a professor of piano at the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati.

The concert will be broadcast live on the Crane School of Music YouTube channel at the performance time. To view the program and see other upcoming streaming performances, visit http://www.potsdam.edu/academics/Crane/streaming.

About The Crane School of Music:

Founded in 1886, SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music has a long legacy of excellence in music education and performance. Life at Crane includes an incredible array of more than 300 recitals, lectures and concerts presented by faculty, students and guests each year. The Crane School of Music is the State University of New York's only All-Steinway institution. For more information, please visit http://www.potsdam.edu/crane.

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