The National Society of Arts and Letters

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Washington DC Chapter

A look back at last season’s
Piano Master Class
Steinway Piano Gallery
Tysons Corner Center
Sunday, November 14, 2010
2010 Piano Master Class Chair Stephanie Stoyanoff
We provided a feast for the eyes and ears.
We were all-inclusive and brought the joy of music to so many hearts.
We gave them all a superior gift.
Stephanie Stoyanoff
In a dramatic two-story open area of Tysons Corner Center the Steinway Piano Gallery provided a majestic Steinway Concert Grand Piano lovingly placed on a red carpet complete with staging and sound equipment for NSAL’s inaugural Piano Master Class. Initiated by NSAL Membership Chair Cici Hughes and conducted by Awadagin Pratt, winner of NSAL’s 1989 Constance Caraway Erskin Piano Award, we had five pianists who took part in the Piano Master Class:
Sharifa Clark, Suitland High School
Arami Coleman, Suitland High School
Jihae Lim, George Mason University
Chi-Hsuan Yin, University of Maryland
Fiffi Zhang, Lee Studios of Music
Not only were the one hundred chairs filled, but the audience overflowed into the aisles and hung over the balcony to listen. Little children sitting on the floor were mesmerized, the elderly were totally engrossed. The crowd was visibly uplifted by the event.
Featuring world renowned pianist and conductor Awadagin Pratt
Winner of the 1989 NSAL Constance Caraway Erskin Piano Award
In 1992, Awadagin Pratt won the prestigious Naumburg International Piano Competition and two years later was awarded a 1994 Avery Fisher Career Grant. He has performed at the White House at the invitation of both Presidents Obama and Clinton as well as at other notable venues including Lincoln Center in New York, The Kennedy Center in Washington DC, and the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles. Mr. Pratt is currently an Associate Professor of Piano and Artist in Residence at the College Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati.
http://www.awadagin.com/
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