Trio of Pianists to Perform Pair of Concerts, February 4 & 5

January 23, 2011

January 23, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — Back-to-back performances celebrating the bicentennial of the births of composers Robert Schumann and Frédéric Chopin will be presented by the DePauw University School of Music, February 4 & 5.  Both concerts will begin at 7:30 p.m. in Thompson Recital Hall, located within the Judson and Joyce Green Center for the Performing Arts. Presented free of admission charge, the programs will feature performances by pianists Matthew Gianforte (a DePauw faculty member), Gregory Martin and Kazuha Nakahara.

The three performers enjoy dynamic careers as soloists, collaborators, and educators, having performed across the United States and abroad. The pianists met while studying together at Indiana University, and in 2007 began their series of "composer concerts" with performances commemorating the death year of Edvard Grieg. In 2009, the group received praise for their concerts and master classes in Osaka and Yokohama, Japan, as well as at several universities in the U.S., to honor the birth of Felix Mendelssohn. During the 2010 and 2011 seasons, the trio celebrates the birthdays of three titans of the Romantic Era -- Robert Schumann, Frédéric Chopin, and Franz Liszt.

The "Birthday Blowout"  concert on Friday, February 4, celebrates the works of Robert Schumann (1810-1856). On the program is: Arabeske, Op. 18; Waldszenen, Op. 82; Papillons, Op. 2; From Novelletten, Op. 21, No. 8 in f-sharp minor; and Zwei Lieder (Schumann/Liszt).

The following night, February 5, the music of Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849) will be featured. Fantasy in f minor, Op. 49; Six Chants Polonais (Chopin/Liszt); Nocturne in c-sharp minor, Op. Posth.; Etude in D-flat Major, Op. 25, No. 8; Ballade No. 4 in f minor, Op. 52 will be on the program.

Gianforte, adjunct assistant professor of music at DePauw, recently performed at Weill Recital Hall in New York, and was selected to perform the world premiere of Brian Ciach’s prize-winning Piano Sonata No. 2 at the American Liszt Society Festival in Athens, Georgia in February. A native of Chicago, he was educated at the Catholic University of America and at Indiana University under the tutelage of Marilyn Neeley and Karen Shaw. Gianforte has worked with talented pre-college students through Indiana University’s Summer Piano Academy and Young Pianist's Program for over ten years. Previously, he served as coordinator of secondary piano and coordinator of accompanying at IU.

In addition to debuting new works by composers such as Emile Naoumoff and John Traill, Gregory Martin has also premiered unpublished compositions by Ralph Vaughan Williams and Gerald Finzi. He has collaborated with members of the Chicago and Indianapolis Symphonies, the Dresden Staatskappelle, the Garth Newell Quartet, and with Håkan Hagegård on a staged version of Dominick Argento’s song cycle The Andrée Expedition. As a lecturer, Dr. Martin has presented at such institutions as the University of Berlin, the Grieg Academy, and Oxford University. Trained at the University of Cincinnati and at Indiana University, Dr. Martin’s primary teachers include Edmund Battersby, William Black, Karen Shaw, and Leonard Hokanson. In Fall 2008, he joined the music department at Western Illinois University as accompanying coordinator and staff pianist. He is also active as a composer.

Since her debut performance in Kashima Bunka-Kaikan (Japan) in 1997, Kazuha Nakahara has maintained an active and versatile career as a performer and teacher. She is a top prize winner in a number of competitions, both as a piano soloist, and as a member of the London-based Amaryllis Trio. Dr. Nakahara received degrees from the New England Conservatory, the Royal Academy of Music, and Indiana University, and her principal teachers have included Veronica Jochum, Christopher Elton, Jean-Louis Haguenauer, and Verena Dambrans. In August 2010, she joined the faculty of the Universitas Pelita Harapan Conservatory (Indonesia), and currently serves as head of the piano program. Additionally, she serves on the faculty of the Indiana University Summer Piano Academy. Previously, she was an adjunct faculty member at Vincennes University and at IU.

Founded in 1884, the DePauw University School of Music is one of the oldest in the nation and has an established tradition of educating leaders in virtually every facet of music, including performers, educators, composers and administrators. Learn more here.

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