Annual Piano Festival Set for Feb. 15-16

This year marks the 30th annual Truman Piano Festival, taking place Feb. 15-16 in the Ophelia Parrish Performance Hall.

Dr. Nicholas Roth will be the featured guest artist. He will perform a solo recital at 8 p.m. Feb. 15 with works by Beethoven, Villa-Lobos, Liszt, Griffes and Gottschalk.

Roth is an associate professor of piano at Drake University. He began formal studies at age 12 and received critical acclaim for his appearances by the age of 18. Roth has performed as a soloist with the St. Louis Symphony and the Indianapolis Symphony and has been featured in recitals and festivals throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, Germany, Serbia and Spain.

A Beethoven Fellow of the American Pianists Association, Roth has won first prizes in the chamber music competitions of Tortona and Pietra Ligure, Italy, and received a DAAD grant to further his studies in Germany.

Roth received his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Michigan State University. Additionally he holds an artist diploma from the Hochschule für Musik in Munich, and master’s and bachelor’s degrees from Indiana University, where he was the recipient of the School of Music’s highest honors.

Roth’s recordings with Blue Griffin Recording have garnered favorable reviews in Fanfare, American Record Guide, International Record Review and Gramophone.

At 9:30 a.m. Feb. 16, Roth will conduct a master class featuring four Truman piano majors, followed at 1:30 p.m. by the competition that determines the recipient of the Truman Piano Fellowship Award, a four-year, full-ride scholarship to an incoming Truman piano major.

All events are free and open to the public.
Next