Oregon Center for the Arts at Southern Oregon University presents pianist Antonio Di Cristofano at SOU Tutunov Piano Series
(Ashland, Ore.) – The Music program of the Oregon Center for the Arts at Southern Oregon University presents the fourth concert of the 2014-2015 SOU Tutunov Piano Series, featuring piano virtuoso Antonio Di Cristofano on Friday, May 1 at 7:30 p.m. in the SOU Music Recital Hall.
Di Cristofano will perform works by Chopin, Liszt, Berg and Scriabin. “Maestro Di Cristofano is the foremost Italian expert in music by a Russian composer ̶ Alexander Scriabin ̶ who will leave everyone breathless with his grand interpretations of a great blend of familiar and rarely performed music,” said series namesake Dr. Alexander Tutunov.
Di Cristofano made his U.S. debut in 2006 in Weill Hall in New York and has performed in Carnegie Hall with the New England Symphony. He has performed as a soloist and with symphony orchestras in the United States, Italy, Russia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, England, France, Greece, Israel, Mexico, South Korea, and Spain.
He has led master classes for the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow, for the Academy of Dubrovnik, for the SMC Academy of Seoul, the Valletta International Piano Festival and the Conservatory of Thessaloniki. He has recorded for Velut Luna, with flutist Enzo Caroli, a monographic CD of Schubert and released a solo CD with music by Berg, Brahms and Scriabin. He is regularly invited to jury international piano competitions in locales like Madrid, Paris and Moscow.
Tutunov is Professor of Piano and Artist in Residence at Southern Oregon University. “Over the past few years, I felt there were enough people in the Rogue Valley who are as passionate about the things I do and love doing as I am,” said Tutunov. “We have a fortunate combination of a great venue, terrific supportive audience, and my personal connections in the classical piano music world with the result that we can bring high quality music-making to the Rogue Valley.” Tutunov describes each featured artist’s uncompromising quest for finding “the deepest meaning and perfection in the music they perform” as the common thread through the series.
Tutunov also is the Artistic Director of the SOU International Piano Institute and Artist in Residence at the University of Alaska Southeast. He just finished a five-year tenure as a voting member of the Grammy Academy. Tutunov was named the Nationally Certified Teacher of Music and the Official Soloist with the Port Angeles Symphony orchestra last year. He maintains a busy performing schedule in Europe, China, Mexico and the United States as a recitalist, soloist with orchestra, and on radio and television. He is also in demand as an adjudicator for piano competitions.
Reserved tickets are $20 general and free to full-time students. The Performing Arts Box Office is located in the Music Recital Hall lobby. Box office hours are noon to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and two hours prior to each performance. Tickets can be purchased with a credit card over the phone by calling 541-552-6348 or online at oca.sou.edu.
About Southern Oregon University
Southern Oregon University provides outstanding student experiences, valued degrees, and successful graduates. SOU is known for excellence in faculty, intellectual creativity and rigor, quality and innovation in connected learning programs, and the educational benefits of its unique geographic location. SOU was the first university in Oregon—and one of the first in the nation—to offset 100 percent of its energy use with clean, renewable power, and it is the first university in the nation to balance 100 percent of its water consumption. Visit sou.edu.
Photo: Pianist Antonio Di Cristofano
