CCM Presents a Joint Recital by Faculty Artists and Naumburg International Piano Competition Gold Medalists Soyeon Kate Lee and Awadagin Pratt

The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) presents a first of its kind joint piano recital featuring faculty artists and Naumburg International Piano Competition Gold Medalists Soyeon Kate Lee and Awadagin Pratt at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 11. The performance will also serve as the CCM debut for Lee, who joined the faculty in August as an Assistant Professor of Music in Piano.

In existence since 1926, the Naumburg Competition is one of the most distinguished competitions in the world. Lee took first prize in 2010. Pratt, an Artist-in-Residence, Professor of Piano and Chair of the Department of Piano at CCM, took the first prize in 1992.

CCM's Naumburg Gold Medalists Piano Recital will provide a rare chance for piano lovers to hear two Naumburg Gold Medalists perform together in the stunning Robert J. Werner Recital Hall. Lee and Pratt will present a program featuring works of Albeniz, Ravel, Schubert, Bach-Busoni and Brahms.

Each artist will perform individual repertoire – including the pieces by Ravel and Bach-Busoni that they played during the Naumburg finals – followed by a special program for two pianos.

Lee’s appointment to the Department of Piano this fall now gives CCM the rare distinction of having two Naumburg Gold Medalists on faculty. Learn more by visiting

ccm.uc.edu/about/villagenews/faculty/soyeun-kate-lee-joins-piano-faculty

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Repertoire

Soyeon Kate Lee

• ALBENIZ: Iberia, Book 1
• RAVEL: La Valse
  

Awadagin Pratt

• SCHUBERT: Impromptu, Op. 90, No. 1 in C minor
• J.S. BACH: Chaconne in D Minor, BWV 1004 (arr. BUSONI)
  

Plus surprises for two pianos.

Performance Time

8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 11

Location

Robert J. Werner Recital Hall, CCM Village

University of Cincinnati

Purchasing Tickets

Tickets for this concert are $15 for general admission, $10 for non-UC students and free for UC students with valid ID.

Tickets can be purchased in person at the CCM Box Office, over the telephone at 513-556-4183 or online at

ccm.uc.edu/boxoffice/naumburg-gold-medalists-concert

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About Soyeon Kate Lee

Korean-American pianist Soyeon Kate Lee has been hailed by the

New York Times

as a pianist with "a huge, richly varied sound, a lively imagination and a firm sense of style," while the

Washington Post

has lauded her for her "stunning command of the keyboard." Her recent recital appearances include New York City programs at Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall and Weill Recital Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, Lincoln Center for the Performing Art's Alice Tully Hall, Washington's John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Cleveland's Severance Hall, the Ravinia Festival's "Rising Stars" series, Auditorio de Musica de Nacional in Madrid - part of a 13-city tour of Spain, tour of the Hawaiian Islands, Krannert Center and Finland’s Maanta Music Festival.

Lee earned her Bachelor's and Master's degrees, and the Artist Diploma from the Juilliard School. While at Juilliard, she won every award granted to a pianist including the Rachmaninoff Concerto Competition, two consecutive Gina Bachauer Scholarship Competitions, Arthur Rubinstein Prize, Susan Rose Career Grant and the William Petschek Piano Debut Award.

Learn more about Lee here.

About Awadagin Pratt

Born in Pittsburgh, Awadagin Pratt began studying piano at the age of 6. Three years later, having moved to Normal, Illinois, with his family, he also began studying violin. At the age of 16 he entered the University of Illinois where he studied piano, violin and conducting. He subsequently enrolled at the Peabody Conservatory of Music where he became the first student in the school's history to receive diplomas in three performance areas – piano, violin and conducting. In recognition of this achievement and for his work in the field of classical music, Pratt recently received the Distinguished Alumni Award from Johns Hopkins.

In 1994 Pratt was awarded an Avery Fisher Career Grant. Since then, he has played numerous recitals throughout the US including performances at Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles and Chicago’s Orchestra Hall. 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. Summer festival engagements include Ravinia, Blossom, Wolftrap, Caramoor and Aspen, the Hollywood Bowl and the Mostly Mozart Festival in Tokyo.

In November 2009, Pratt was one of four artists selected to perform at a White House classical music event that included student workshops hosted by First Lady Michelle Obama and performed in concert for guests including President Obama. He has performed two other times at the White House, both at the invitation of President and Mrs. Clinton.

Learn more about Pratt here

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About the Naumburg Competition

Established in 1926, the Naumburg international competitions have been described by the New York Times as “in its quiet way, the most prestigious of them all.” The Walter W. Naumburg Foundation continues in the pursuit of ideals set out by Walter Naumburg. His desire to assist the young gifted musician in America has made possible a long-standing program of competitions and awards in solo and chamber music performance, composer recordings, conducting and commissions. It was Mr. Naumburg's firm belief that such competitions were not only for the benefit of new stars, but also very much for those talented young artists who would become prime movers in the development of the highest standards of musical excellence throughout America. The solo competition disciplines rotate from year to year, encompassing piano, violin, and voice.

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CCM Season Presenting Sponsor and Musical Theatre Program Sponsor: The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation

Community Partner: ArtsWave