Hartford, CT: Eight advanced piano students at area colleges will perform at the annual Evelyn Bonar Storrs scholarship winners recital on Thursday, March 23, 2017 at the Westminster Presbyterian Church in West Hartford, CT. The concert takes places at 10 am. Admission is free to all and the general public is warmly welcomed. The mission of the Musical Club of Hartford is to develop the musical talent of its members and to encourage the study and appreciation of music through programs, lectures and concerts. In addition, the Club gives financial assistance to promising young artists and aid to musical projects in the community.

The 2017 competition winners--Anchie Donn, Sirakanjana Seradi, Lillie Gardner, Victor Nigri e Silva Santos, Anna Grudskaya, Augustin Muriago, Liana Paniyeva, and Henry Kramer--represent a broad international spectrum, including Taiwan, Thailand, Brazil, Uzbekistan, Argentina, the Ukraine and the United States. They will be performing works ranging from J.S. Bach to Amy Beach and Alberto Ginastera. Of this group, six are from undergraduate and advanced degree programs at the Hartt School, University of Hartford, one is from the doctoral program at the University of Connecticut and one is from the doctoral program at Yale University.

The achievements of the winners of this year’s MCH Evelyn Bonar Storrs competition are numerous. Programs and brief biographies follow:

Anchie Donn

Goldberg Variations BWV 988, Aria and variations 1-5 by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Taiwanese-American pianist Anchie Donn has performed in major cities across Southeast Asia, Europe and the United States. As a member of The Heron Trio, she has been featured on National Public Radio. Anchie has participated in festivals such as Aspen Music Festival, Bowdoin International Music Festival, Chautauqua Music Festival, and Baroque Performance Institute. She is completing her Doctor of Musical Arts in piano performance at The Hartt School, where she is also a teaching fellow. Past degrees include a Master of Music from Boston University and a Bachelor of Music with highest honors from University of Michigan. Her teachers include Paul Rutman, Jonathan Bass, Christopher Harding, and Arthur Greene.

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Sirakanjana Seradi

Intermezzos Op. 119, No. 1 in B minor and No. 2 in E minor by Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)

Sirakanjana Seradi is a Thai pianist, currently doing her 3rd year of Bachelor of Music at the Hartt School, University of Hartford, Connecticut studying with Paul Rutman. Before she came to the United States, she had studied with Eri Nakagawa at College of Music, Mahidol University for the pre-college program where she received an Excellent Student Award in the graduation ceremony. She recently gave a piano recital in Thailand at Collage of Music, Payap University in January 2017.Sirakanjana Seradi is a Thai pianist, currently doing her 3rd year of Bachelor of Music at the Hartt School

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Lillie Gardner

Prelude #4, Book 2: Les fees sont d’exquises danseuses by Claude Debussy (1862-1918)

“A Hermit Thrush at Eve” Op.92, No. 1 by Amy Beach (1867-1944)

Originally from St. Paul, Minnesota, Lillie Gardner has performed in the "Chopin 200" Festival at the World Financial Center, the “Tutte le Corde: Piano Music After 1950” series in Greenwich Village, and at venues such as Bellevue Hospital, Teatro de Casa Italiana, Southampton Cultural Center, Frederick Loewe Theater, Provincetown Playhouse, the Tenri Cultural Institute of New York, and the Conservatorio Superior de Música de Asturias in Spain. Most recently, she performed solo recitals at von der Mehden Recital Hall and was selected alternate in the University of Connecticut’s 2015 Aria and Concerto Competition. At New York University, Lillie received her Bachelor and Master of Musicdegrees as a student of Miyoko Lotto and Dr. Jose Ramon Mendez.

Currently she is pursuing her Doctor of Musical Arts degree at UConn where she has studied with Irma Vallecillo and currently studies with Dr. Angelina Gadeliya. Lillie’s final degree recital, American Literature in Recital, will be at UConn in April of 2017, and will consist of solo piano, chamber, and vocal music inspired by works of American literature.

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Victor Nigri e Silva Santos

Ciclo Nordestino No. 4 (Northeastern Cycle No. 4): Caboclinhos, Cantilena, and Frevo by Marlos Nobre (b. 1939)

Victor Nigri is a Graduate Professional Diploma candidate in piano performance at The University of Hartford's The Hartt School, where he is the recipient of a music talent scholarship, studying under the guidance of Professor Luiz de Moura Castro. Nigri is also a piano faculty member of the Hartt Community Division.He has performed in both solo and chamber music recitals throughout Brazil, the United States, and Portugal. He recently took part in the Campos do Jordão International Winter Festival, Brazil, and Óbidos International Piano Festival, Portugal.In 2014 he graduated from Minas Gerais State University with a Bachelor of Music degree in piano performance as a student of Professor Heron Alvim. In addition to being distinguished with a Honorable Prize of Best Performance of Brazilian Music at the VII Maestro Spartacco Rossi Piano Competition, Nigri was also a top prizewinner at the XXII Souza Lima Piano Competition and the IX Cora Pavan Capparelli Piano Competition.

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Anna Grudskaya

Le Vent dans le Plaine and Des Pas sur la Neige by Claude Debussy (1862-1918)

Anna Grudskaya was born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan to a family of musicians and artists and began piano studies at the age of four. Winner of the Concerto/Aria Competition at Santa Clara University and Van Waynen Piano Competition, Ms. Grudskaya has performed in concert halls in the United States and abroad. She has performed in festivals including the International Keyboard Institute and Festival, Aspen Music Festival and School, Beijing International Music Festival and Academy, New Orleans Piano Institute, NYU Summer Piano Intensive, and Adamant Music School, working with distinguished artists such as Menahem Pressler, Nelita True, Boris Berman, Ann Schein, Alan Chow, and Alessio Bax. Anna Grudskaya earned Bachelor Degrees in Music and Psychology from Santa Clara University in the studio of Hans Boepple, a Master of Music Degree from Mannes College of Music in the studio of Pavlina Dokovska, and an Advanced Certificate in Music Education at NYU’s Steinhardt School in the studio of Eteri Andjaparidze. She is currently pursuing her Doctor of Musical Arts degree at The Hartt School under the tutelage of David Westfall. 

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Agustin Muriago

Cuyana, from Tres Piezas, Op. 6 by Alberto Ginastera (1916-1983)

Etude-tableaux Op. 39, No. 5 by Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943)

Agustin Muriago is a Doctor of Musical Arts candidate in piano performance at The Hartt School in Connecticut. He has performed throughout the United States, Spain, and his native Argentina in venues such as Steinway Hall in New York City and the “Teatro Opera” in Buenos Aires. His repertoire ranges from traditional piano literature to contemporary music premieres, with an emphasis on Spanish and Argentinean piano music. Major teachers include José Ramón Méndez, David Westfall, Veda Zuponcic, Aldo Antognazzi, and Marcela Fiorillo. As a prizewinner of the 2008 “Teachers del Norte Pianists del Sur” directed by Mirian Conti, he continued his studies in the United States, earning a Bachelor’s degree from Rowan University and a Master’s degree from New York University.

He has held the position of piano instructor at NYU, offered masterclasses, and served as adjudicator at piano festivals in New York and Connecticut. He is currently on the faculty at The Hartt School Community Division  

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Liana Paniyeva

Klavierstücke, Op 76: No. 1 Capriccio. Un poco agitato; No. 4 Intermezzo. Allegretto grazioso; and No. 8 Capriccio. Grazioso ed un poco vivace by Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)

Liana Paniyeva began winning prizes in piano competitions in Ukraine in 2002 when she earned Third Prize at the International Competitions in Memory of E. Gilels, First Prize at the International Competition in Memory of Prokofiev, and Second Prize at the International Competition in Memory of A. Karamanov.  Her accomplishments in 2008 included First Prize at the “Music World” International Competition in Italy, and she was the winner of “The Voice of Music” Piano Competition in Israel. In the United States in 2012, Ms. Paniyeva was the winner of the American Protégé International Competition of Romantic Music; recipient of the Grand Prize at the Metropolitan International Piano Competition; and the winner of the AFAF Golden Era of Romantic Music International Competition.  In 2013~2015, Ms. Paniyeva was awarded the E.B. Storrs Piano Scholarship from the Musical Club of Hartford. Ms. Paniyeva was also awarded a prize in the 2014 Scottish International Piano Competition in Glasgow, and won 6th place at the Iowa International Piano Competition in 2015.

She has performed at international festivals in Norway, Hungary, Syria, Italy, and Israel; and during the 2012-2013 season, she performed three times at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Liana graduated from the Donetsk Music Academy in Ukraine in 2007, and went on to earn her Professional Studies Certificate from the Manhattan School of Music in 2011.  Her career continues with recitals in Hungary, Israel, Ukraine, USA, England, Syria and Norway. Currently Liana is pursuing a Master’s Degree at The Hartt

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Henry Kramer

Iberia, Book I: Evocación by Isaac Albeniz (1860-1909)

Sonata in D Major K. 96, L. 465 byDomenico Scarlatti 1665-1757

Morningsong and Mist by Aaron Jay Kernis (b. 1960)

Attars by Judith Lang Zaimont (b. 1945)

Music Competition (Sendai The winner of the 2015 William Petschek Recital Debut Award from The Juilliard School, pianist Henry Kramer is establishing himself as one of the most exciting young pianists on the concert stage today. His performances have been praised by critics as “triumphant” and “thrilling” (The New York Times), and “technically effortless” (La Presse, Montreal). A Maine native, Mr. Kramer has earned top prizes in the 2015 Honens International Piano Competition, the 2011 Montreal International Music Competition, and the 6th China Shanghai International Piano Competition. He was also a prizewinner in the 8th National Chopin Competition in Miami and received the 2014 Harvard Musical Association Arthur Foote Award. He is a winner of Astral’s 2014 National Auditions. He was awarded the silver medal in 2016 at the Queen Elisabeth International Piano Competition in Brussels.

In the 2015-2016 season, Mr. Kramer is featured at Portland Piano International (Oregon), The Cliburn Foundation, Symphony in C, and the Portland (Maine) International Chamber Music Festival. He recently appeared as soloist with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra under Yan Pascal Tortelier, and has also appeared with the Shanghai Philharmonic, the Bilkent Symphony Orchestra in Ankara, Turkey, the Portland (Maine) Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre Métropolitain du Montreal, and the Yale Philharmonia. In recent seasons, he performed Rachmaninov’s Concerto No. 2 with the Eastern Connecticut Symphony and Toshi Shimada, as well as Beethoven’s Chorale Fantasy with Robert Moody and the Portland Symphony Orchestra.

In the spring of 2012, Mr. Kramer made his European debut in a solo recital at Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw. An engaging chamber musician, he has been featured in performances at Lincoln Center, and has participated in the Steans Institute at the Ravinia Festival and La Jolla Music Society’s Summerfest. Recently, he appeared on Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute tour, which included performances at Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and New York’s Morgan Library, as well as an unprecedented appearance in Havana, Cuba, as a cultural ambassador. At the Verbier Festival Academy, he was awarded the Tabor Prize in Piano.

Mr. Kramer holds both a Master’s and a Bachelor’s degree from The Juilliard School and an Artist Diploma from the Yale School of Music, where he received the Charles S. Miller Prize for the most outstanding first-year pianist. He currently pursues doctoral studies at the Yale School of Music, and was recently appointed as the Iva Dee Hiatt Visiting Artist in Piano at Smith College

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