2023 NAU Virtual PianoFest
Saturday, October 14, 2023
9:00 AM – 4:00 PM Arizona Time
FREE via Zoom
Download the schedule here.
The 2023 NAU Virtual PianoFest is a free, intensive single-day event hosted by Northern Arizona University Kitt School of Music and open to pianists of all levels and ages, whether students, teachers, amateur pianists, or piano enthusiasts.
The event offers two masterclasses and a wide array of sessions on piano-related topics presented by internationally-acclaimed NAU piano faculty artists Silvan Negruțiu, Tiantian Liang, José Ramón Méndez, and Aimee Fincher. Students will have an opportunity to socialize virtually over lunch.
Access to all PianoFest sessions will be provided via a unique Zoom link that will be shared with participants prior to October 14th at the e-mail address provided in the registration form.
Questions? Contact Dr. Silvan Negruțiu at silvan.negrutiu@nau.edu.
2023 Virtual PianoFest FACULTY
Dr. SILVAN NEGRUȚIU
Hailed as “a startling and authentic pianist displaying rich imagination and brilliant vigor, whose precision and splendor of keyboard sound certainly inspire a transcendental reality” (The Musical News Journal, Bucharest), Silvan Negruţiu has performed on major international stages, from the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. to Ireland’s National Concert Hall, the Romanian Athenaeum in Bucharest, the Xi’an Concert Hall in China, the Showa Recital Hall in Tokyo, and the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. He has released two albums on Centaur Records and has appeared as soloist with prestigious orchestras, including the Romanian Radio Chamber Orchestra, Alicante Philharmonic, George Enescu Philharmonic, and Dublin Symphony Orchestra. In high demand as a performer, clinician, adjudicator, and speaker, he appears frequently as a conference presenter and an artist-teacher at international music festivals across Europe, America, and Asia. As an artist, a teacher, and a scholar, he embraces the exploration of rare piano literature, innovative pedagogy, and the advancement of arts entrepreneurship in higher education. Silvan Negruțiu serves as the Karen and Michael Kitt Endowed Professor in Piano and Director of Piano Studies at Northern Arizona University. He is the founder and Artistic Director of Flagstaff Piano Festival and Northern Arizona Piano Competition. Prior to joining the NAU faculty, he taught at Millikin University, Shenandoah Conservatory, and the Royal Irish Academy of Music.
Dr. TIANTIAN LIANG
Dr. Tiantian Liang serves as Assistant Teaching Professor of Piano Pedagogy and Group Piano in the Kitt School of Music at Northern Arizona University. As a dedicated scholar in pedagogy and performance, Liang’s research interests include the works of underrepresented composers. Recently, she performed a lecture-recital for the 2022 Southern College Music Society Conference titled “Introducing Chinese Piano Music to the Advanced Student: Pedagogical Uses for Tan Dun’s Eight Memories in Watercolor.” She most recently performed selections from Fanny Mendelssohn’s Das Jahr for the 2023 NCKP in Lombard IL and the Music by Women Conference at Mississippi University for Women. In 2024, Liang will present “Pedagogical Uses for Rautavaara’s Etudes” for the National MTNA Conference in Atlanta, GA. Liang’s degrees include a Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, a Performer Diploma from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, a Master of Music from Rice University, and a Bachelor of Music from Concordia College.
Dr. JOSÉ RAMÓN MÉNDEZ
Hailed by the Hoja del Lunes de Madrid as “the Spanish pianist of his generation,” José Ramón Méndez is one of the most exciting Spanish pianists of today. Recent performances include solo recitals at Porto Pianofest, Palmetto International Piano Festival, as well as numerous solo and chamber music performances in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Méndez studied at the Manhattan School of Music with renowned pedagogue Solomon Mikowsky and later under the tutelage of Byron Janis and Miyoko Lotto. During his time in New York, he won top prizes in many international competitions, including Hilton Head Island International Piano Competition and the Frederic Chopin Competition in New York, among others. He has given master classes at Oberlin Conservatory, The Yehudi Menuhin School of Music, Northwestern University, University of Michigan, Manhattan School of Music, Cleveland institute of Music among others. He is the Artistic Director and on the faculty of the Gijon International Piano Festival in Gijon, Spain and is frequently invited to perform and teach at various festivals. He has served on the faculty of the University of Texas at Austin, New York University, Pennsylvania State University and the Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University. He currently serves on the piano faculty in the Kitt School of Music at Northern Arizona University.
Dr. AIMEE FINCHER
Dr. Aimee Fincher serves as Assistant Professor of Practice in Collaborative Piano at Northern Arizona University, where she is delighted to be part of a vibrant piano-area team. At NAU, she performs with students and faculty, facilitates collaborative piano assignments, coaches chamber music, and co-teaches piano ensemble. An experienced chamber musician, collaborator, and large ensemble pianist, she is comfortable performing wide-ranging styles and genres. Orchestral performances have included premieres by William Price and Amir Zaheri, Credo in US by John Cage, and Absolute Jest by John Adams. Prior to her work at NAU, Dr. Fincher worked at Oakwood University and the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Together with violinist Hannah Leland, she released Duo Odéon’s album, Specter, on the Sono Luminus label, featuring premiere recordings of unpublished manuscripts by the composer George Antheil and the violinist Werner Gebauer. She can also be heard on Summit Records’ album, Table for Three at Chez Janou, in collaboration with Arizona State University brass professor John Ericson and professor emeritus Douglas Yeo. Aimee Fincher earned her doctorate in collaborative piano at Arizona State University, and performance and pedagogy degrees from the University of Alabama and the University of South Carolina, where her professors included Andrew Campbell, Russell Ryan, and Scott Price.