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Grieg’s Piano Concerto
Peace Concert Hall
Saturday, November 23 at 7:30 pm
Sunday November 24 at 3:00 pm
PROGRAM
Sarah Gibson: warp & weft
Edvard Grieg: Piano Concerto in A Minor
Robert Schumann: Symphony No. 1, “Spring”
Prepare for an enchanting evening of musical exploration as we delve into the depths of Sarah Gibson’s mesmerizing composition, warp & weft, setting the stage for a journey through Norwegian landscapes with Grieg’s timeless Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op.16. The grand finale of the evening unfolds with the vibrant and stirring melodies of Schumann’s Symphony No. 1, promising an unforgettable concert experience filled with passion, virtuosity, and musical mastery.
CONDUCTOR
Lee Mills, conductor
GUEST
Spencer Myer, piano
Lauded for “superb playing” and “poised, alert musicianship” by The Boston Globe and labeled “definitely a man to watch” by London’s The Independent, American pianist SPENCER MYER is one of the most respected and sought-after artists on today’s concert stages.
Spencer Myer’s current season includes touring throughout the United States, highlighted by his debut engagements with Mississippi’s Gulf Coast Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Music Director Peter Rubardt and South Carolina’s Greenville Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Music Director Lee Mills. He also returns to Colorado’s Longmont Symphony Orchestra, Music Director Elliot Moore conducting. His recital engagements include Richmond, Virginia’s distinguished Belvedere Series. Mr. Myer continues as half of the Daurov/Myer Duo, having teamed up with the award-winning cellist Adrian Daurov in 2012.
Spencer Myer’s orchestral, recital and chamber music performances have been heard throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Africa and Asia. He has been soloist with, among many others, The Cleveland Orchestra, Boise, Dayton, Evansville, Louisiana, Massapequa, Northeastern Pennsylvania and Rhode Island philharmonic orchestras, Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra of Boston, ProMusica Chamber Orchestra of Columbus, the Altoona, Bangor, Baton Rouge, Bozeman, Canton, Chattanooga, Duluth Superior, Eugene, Flagstaff, Grand Junction, Indianapolis, Juneau, Knoxville, Longmont, Macon, Missoula, New Haven, Omaha, Phoenix, Ridgefield, San Juan, Santa Fe, Springfield (MA, MO, OH), Traverse, Tucson and Wyoming symphony orchestras, Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, New York City’s The Park Avenue Chamber Symphony, Canada’s Windsor Symphony Orchestra, Mexico’s Orquesta Filarmónica de Jalisco, South Africa’s Cape Town and Johannesburg philharmonic orchestras and Beijing’s China National Symphony Orchestra, collaborating with, among others, conductors David Bernard, Mélisse Brunet, Nicholas Cleobury, Kayoko Dan, David Danzmayr, Robert Franz, Neal Gittleman, Bernhard Gueller, Jacques Lacombe, Jahja Ling, Dirk Meyer, Elliot Moore, Timothy Muffitt, Maurice Peress, Kyle Wiley Pickett, Arthur Post, Kevin Rhodes, Lucas Richman, Matthew Savery, Alfred Savia, Klauspeter Seibel, Steven Smith, Gerald Steichen, Arjan Tien, Peter Stafford Wilson and Victor Yampolsky. His 2005 recital/orchestral tour of South Africa included a performance of the five piano concerti of Beethoven with the Chamber Orchestra of South Africa, followed by four return orchestra and recital tours between 2006 and 2018.
Spencer Myer’s recital appearances have been presented in New York City’s Weill Recital Hall, 92nd Street Y and Steinway Hall, Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center and London’s Wigmore Hall, while many of his performances have been broadcast on WQXR (New York City), WHYY (Philadelphia), WCLV (Cleveland) and WFMT (Chicago). An in-demand chamber musician, he appeared for five summers at the Lev Aronson Legacy Festival in Dallas with cellists Lynn Harrell, Ralph Kirshbaum, Amit Peled and Brian Thornton, and enjoys a recurring partnership with the Miami String Quartet at the Kent/Blossom Music Festival. Other artistic partners include clarinetist David Shifrin, Cardiff Singer of the World winner Nicole Cabell, the Jupiter, Manhattan and Pacifica string quartets and the Dorian Wind Quintet. Festival appearances have included those of the Annapolis Chamber, Bard, Blossom, Cape Cod Chamber, Chautauqua, Colorado, Gina Bachauer, Jackson Hole, Mendocino, Ravinia, Rocky Ridge and Skaneateles music festivals, Canada’s Concerts aux Iles du Bic, Spain’s Gijon International Piano Festival and Valencia International Piano Academy, and Indonesia’s Yogyakarta International Music Festival.
Spencer Myer’s career was launched with three important prizes: First Prize in the 2004 UNISA International Piano Competition in South Africa, the 2006 Christel DeHaan Classical Fellowship from the American Pianists Association and the Gold Medal from the 2008 New Orleans International Piano Competition. Additionally, he is a laureate of the 2007 William Kapell, 2005 Cleveland and 2005 Busoni international piano competitions. He also enjoys an expanding reputation as a vocal collaborator since winning the 2000 Marilyn Horne Foundation Competition. Mr. Myer was a member of Astral Artists’ performance roster from 2003-2010.
An enthusiastic supporter of the education of young musicians, Spencer Myer has been a frequent guest artist at workshops for students and teachers, and has served on the faculties of the Baldwin-Wallace University and Oberlin College conservatories of music. He is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, The Juilliard School and Stony Brook University. From 2012 to 2022, he held appointment as Artist-Teacher in Piano and Collaborative Piano at the Longy School of Music of Bard College in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Mr. Myer was the subject of the cover interview in the January/February 2019 issue of The Piano Magazine: Clavier Companion, relating his thoughts on practicing, performing, teaching and mentoring the next generation of pianists. In the Spring of 2022, Mr. Myer was appointed Associate Professor of Music in Piano at Indiana University Bloomington’s Jacobs School of Music.
Spencer Myer’s debut CD for harmonia mundi usa – solo music of Busoni, Copland, Debussy and Kohs – was released in the fall of 2007 to critical acclaim by Fanfare and Gramophone magazines. He can also be heard on a composer-conducted Naxos CD in performances of three concerti from Huang Ruo’s Chamber Concerto Cycle and in a performance of Ravel’s Chansons madécasses, included on “Intimate Masterpieces,” a 2013 CD featuring faculty and alumni of the Oberlin Conservatory and issued by Oberlin Music. Mr. Myer’s most recent four recordings – “William Bolcom: Piano Rags,” the Brahms Cello Sonatas with Brian Thornton, the Debussy Cello Sonata and Brahms Clarinet Trio with Brian Thornton and Afendi Yusuf, and Schumann’s works for cello and piano, with Brian Thornton – are available on the Steinway & Sons label. In the Fall of 2022, Steinway Classics released “Chopin: The Four Impromptus”; the album is available worldwide through all download and streaming services.
In the fall of 2020, Spencer Myer was elected to the Board of Directors of the New York City-based Musicians Foundation (est. 1914).
Spencer Myer is a Steinway Artist. www.spencermyer.com
Pre-Concert Conversation
Free for concert ticketholders, one hour before the performance inside Peace Concert Hall. Join Music Director Lee Mills, Executive Director Jessica Satava, and special guests for an engaging exploration of the composer’s ideas, musical themes, and history of the music you’re about to hear.
