UGA Thursday Scholarship Series: Piano Extravaganza

PIANO EXTRAVAGANZA LET’S DANCE!

Thursday, October 5, 2023 at 7:30 p.m. Hugh Hodgson Concert Hall

Adrian P. Childs

Brandon Craswell

Amy Pollard

Edith Hollander

James Sewell

Shaun Baer

Paul Griffith

Eric Dluzniewski

Scott Higgins

Tony Graves

Dan Phipps

Director

Associate Director for Graduate Studies

Associate Director for Undergraduate Studies

Associate Director for Performance Assistant to the Director

Production and Events Manager Director of Public Relations

Academic Professional, Sound Recording

Academic Professional, Sound Recording Lead Piano Technician

Piano Technician

Sectioning Officer

HUGH HODGSON SCHOOL OF MUSIC

Minuet from Symphony No. 100 in G major “Military” for five pianos Joseph Haydn arr. Jane Tan

Hali Jang, Joanna Elder, Emma Hu, Lucy Kellam, Brenna Pursley

Maple Leaf Rag for three pianos

Scott Joplin arr. Greg Anderson Aakash Joshi, Annabel Shue, Calvin Stovall

Galop-Marche for one piano, eight hands

Caroline Malcom, Shirley Chen, Benjamin Brown, Jayden Chong

Ballet from Orfeo and Euridice for piano four-hands

Albert Lavignac

Christoph Willibald Gluck, arr. Greg Anderson Anna Savelyeva, Elena Minko

Sabre Dance for two pianos, eight hands Aram Khachaturyan

Diego Suarez, Cade Wilson, Peter Kandra, Rajath Prabhakar

“Waltz of the Flowers” from The Nutcracker for five pianos Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky arr. N. Jane Tan

Haoying Wu, Mengyuan Li, Xiaoqian Sun, Alyssa Cagle, Wanbing Luo

BRIEF INTERMISSION

Prelude from Points on Jazz, a ballet suite for two pianos

James Weidman, Liza Stepanova

Dave Brubeck

Canon in C (Jazz Bossa) Based on Chaconne in C major, P. 38 Johann Pachelbel arr. JoJo Mk2

Kumiko Kashii, Judson Stricklin

Corcovado Antonio Carlos Jobim Gregory Satterthwaite, Michael Solomon

“Star Dance” from Hill and Gully Ride, for two pianos, eight hands Eleanor Alberga Anna Hawkins, Jacob Skiles, Jesse Hu, Aly Soriano

Balloon Pop Polka for two pianos, eight hands

Grace Allen, Lucca Fleenor, Leo Jordan, Jayden Mulamoottil, Caelan Shaw, Luvlina Singh, Sara Smith with Nan Gao and Heather Hancock (CMS instructors)

Bolero for five pianos, sixteen hands

Ruth Ellinger

Maurice Ravel arr. Walter Genuit

Evgeny Rivkin, Alan Woo, Liza Stepanova, James Weidman, Gregory Satterthwaite, Peter Jutras, Grace Huang, Martha Thomas

The Piano Area of the UGA Hugh Hodgson School of Music features internationally recognized faculty, attracting talented young musicians from the United States and abroad. Piano students at the Hodgson School enjoy opportunities for solo and ensemble performances, including an annual concerto competition for a performance with the UGA Symphony Orchestra, the biannual Robert G. Edge Undergraduate Piano Competition, student showcases at Steinway Hall in New York City, in Atlanta, and across the state of Georgia. Students also collaborate with the Hodgson School’s small chamber ensembles, orchestras, bands, and choirs. Young musicians gain valuable interactive performance and teaching experience by participating in the Hodgson School’s educational and community outreach programs. In the fall of 2021, the piano area welcomed two new faculty members, Assistant Professors of Jazz Piano James Weidman and Greg Satterthwaite, further expanding student opportunities in the study of jazz piano and jazz ensembles. The Hodgson School of Music is the first all-Steinway school in the state of Georgia.

The piano faculty and students wish to express their special gratitude to the two staff piano technicians at the Hodgson School of Music: Scott Higgins (Lead Piano Technician) and Tony Graves, both for their expert and tireless work throughout the year and for their extensive support of this performance.

PIANO FACULTY BIOGRAPHIES

Grace Huang is Lecturer in Piano Pedagogy and Class Piano Coordinator at the Hugh Hodgson School of Music. Praised for her “lovely and vivacious” playing (Fort Worth Star- Telegram), she has performed throughout the U.S. and abroad. Dr. Huang has taught on several pre-college and college faculties, including the Cleveland Institute of Music and Millikin University. In demand as a teacher, her students have received honors and acceptances to music programs across the country. She is an active adjudicator and presenter at local, state and national levels, and recently initiated the “Play On, Athens!” public piano project.

Pete Jutras, Ph.D., NCTM, is the Director of the Hugh Hodgson School of Music at the University of Georgia in Athens, GA., where he is also a Professor of Piano and the Piano Pedagogy Specialist. A leading author, editor, and scholar in the field of piano pedagogy, Jutras was the Editor-in-Chief of Clavier Companion magazine from 2009-2017. In 2015, he received UGA’s prestigious Richard B. Russell Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching. His writings and research have been published in a variety of leading academic journals, and he has lectured and taught on five continents. In 2015, he established an innovative distance teaching project that connects UGA with Moi Girls School in Eldoret, Kenya.

Evgeny Rivkin was born in Russia and earned his master’s and doctoral degrees at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory, where he studied with Professor Evgeny Malinin. He has been the recipient of many major awards, including top prizes in the USSR National Piano Competition in 1977, the Sixth International Tchaikovsky competition in Moscow, the Bayerishe Rundfunk Competition in Munich, 1985, and the L. MacMahon International Competition in Lawton, Oklahoma. He has appeared as a soloist and chamber musician in Italy, France, Hungary, Germany, Russia, Latvia, Lithuania, Yugoslavia, USA, Canada, Brazil and other countries.

Greg Satterthwaite is Assistant Professor of Jazz Piano and African American Studies at the University of Georgia. Prior to joining the faculty at UGA he was an Assistant Professor of Music at Southeastern University in Lakeland, FL. He has a DMA from the University of North Texas in Jazz Piano Performance, a Master of Arts in Commercial Music from Florida Atlantic University, and a Bachelor of Music from the University of Miami. Dr. Satterthwaite has performed at festivals including the Swan City Piano Festival, Denton Arts and Jazz Festival, and SunFest. He has recently recorded and performed with artists including jazz bassist, Rodney Whitaker and drummer, Terreon Gully.

Before joining the UGA faculty, Liza Stepanova taught at Smith College and The Juilliard School. She holds a DMA from Juilliard and has also studied in Berlin, Germany. In the 2022-2023 season, she joins the faculty at the Brevard Music Festival, returns to Bowdoin, Songfest, and American Liszt Society festivals, performs a headliner solo recital at the TMTA State Conference, and tours with the Lysander Piano Trio at Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, in New York City, Arizona, Florida, Mississippi, Wyoming, and in Canada. Stepanova’s most recent solo CD “E Pluribus Unum” (2020) earned her the distinction of New Artist of the Month by Musical America Worldwide and has been praised in International Piano, Piano Magazine, BBC Music Magazine, and Gramophone.

Martha Thomas recently retired from the University of Georgia Hugh Hodgson School of Music, where she served as the Despy Karlas Professor of Piano and Associate Director for Undergraduate Studies. Martha maintained an active piano career, giving concerts and presentations across five continents. Busy as a recording artist, she is featured on twelve compact discs on the ACA Digital, Centaur, Parma, and Albany labels. Her former students are the recipients of prizes at national and international competitions, direct independent teaching studios, and hold positions at public schools and institutions of higher learning in the US. As a retiree, Martha serves as accompanist for the Athens Choral Society and is the Certification Commissioner for MTNA’s Southern Division. Other fun retirement activities include reading, gardening, exercising, and traveling – the most recent trip to Norway included sightings of the Northern Lights!

James Weidman has had a decades-long international career as a jazz pianist/keyboardist based in New York City. His diverse affiliations include Abbey Lincoln, Cassandra Wilson, Steve Coleman and Five Elements and the Grammy Nominated Joe Lovano Us Five. His latest recording on Inner Circle Music “Spiritual Impressions” featuring Ruth Naomi Floyd was selected by Cadence Magazine as one of the top ten albums of 2018. James graduated from Youngstown State University with a BM in piano and Music Education. He joined the UGA faculty in August 2021. He previously taught at William Paterson University and SUNY Purchase.

Joining the piano faculty at UGA in January 2022, Alan Woo previously taught at Elizabeth City State University and the Peabody Institute. Woo is a graduate of The Juilliard School and Peabody Conservatory, where he completed degrees in piano performance under Robert McDonald and Yong Hi Moon. He made his Lincoln Center debut with the Juilliard Orchestra under Yannick Nézet-Séguin and has since made concerto appearances with the Houston and Fort Worth Symphonies. Woo has performed solo recitals throughout the United States, Europe and Asia, and in series such as the Brooklyn Chamber Music Society and La Jolla Music Society’s SummerFest as chamber musician.

STUDENT PERFORMERS

Undergraduate students are pursuing a B. Mus. Performance degree unless otherwise noted

FRESHMEN

Emma Hu (AB Music)

Caroline Malcom Brenna Pursley

SOPHOMORES

Benjamin Brown

Shirley Chen

Jayden Chong

Hali Jang

Peter Kandra

Lucy Kellam (AB Music)

JUNIORS

Kumiko Kashii (Music Therapy)

Rajath Prabhakar (Music Minor)

Michael Solomon

Judson Stricklin (AB Music)

SENIORS

Joanna Elder (Music Therapy)

Aakash Joshi

Calvin Stovall

Annabel Shue

Cade Wilson

MM STUDENTS

Alyssa Cagle (Performance and Pedagogy program)

Wanbing Luo (Performance and Pedagogy program)

DMA STUDENTS

Nan Gao (CMS instructor)

Heather Hancock (CMS instructor)

Anna Hawkins

Jesse Hu

Mengyuan Li

Elena Minko

Anna Savelyeva

Jacob Skiles

Aly Soriano

Diego Suarez

Xiaoqian Sun

Haoying Wu

UGA COMMUNITY MUSIC SCHOOL STUDENTS

Grace Allen

Lucca Fleenor

Leo Jordan

Jayden Mulamoottil

Caelan Shaw

Luvlina Singh

Sara Smith

Scholarships and Graduate assistantships funded by donations to the Thursday Scholarship Fund make it possible for students to learn and pursue their passions at the Hugh Hodgson School of Music. Please consider a tax-deductible gift to the Thursday Scholarship Fund so we may continue to support our students and make their education possible.

DIRECTOR’S CIRCLE: Gifts of all amounts are greatly appreciated. However, annual giving at the $1,500 level and higher provides membership in the Director’s Circle, our Hugh Hodgson School of Music Honor Roll. Director’s Circle members are invited to exclusive events and performances throughout the academic year.

CONCERT UNDERWRITING: If you are interested in underwriting a concert, please contact: Melissa Roberts at roberts@uga.edu or 706-254-2111.

Scan the QR code or visit music.uga.edu/giving to make a donation today to the University of Georgia Hugh Hodgson School of Music Scholarship Fund.

EXPERIENCE MUSIC

UPCOMING PERFORMANCES

MON 10/9

6 p.m.

Edge Concert Hall

HHSOM Building FREE CONCERT NO TICKETS REQUIRED

MON 10/16

7:30 p.m.

Hodgson Concert Hall

FACULTY CHAMBER RECITAL

MATTHEW

TUES 10/17

7:30 p.m.

Edge Concert Hall

HHSOM Building FREE CONCERT NO TICKETS REQUIRED

WED 10/18

7:30 p.m.

Ramsey Concert Hall

FREE CONCERT NO TICKETS REQUIRED

THURS 10/19

7:30 p.m.

Ramsey Concert Hall

FREE CONCERT NO TICKETS REQUIRED

FRI 10/20

7:30 p.m.

Hodgson Concert Hall

ANATOLY SHELUDYAKOV, PIANO

FACULTY RECITAL SERIES

JAMES

NAIGUS

TUBA

HORN

DAMON DENTON, PIANO

FACULTY CHAMBER RECITAL

BRANDON LORENZ

ANATOLY SHELUDYAKOV, PIANO

WITH SPECIAL GUEST

SAXOPHONE

STUDENT AND FACULTY CHAMBER RECITAL

SHIPES QUARLES GAMMA

VIOLIN

GUEST ARTIST RECITAL

SOLI Chamber Ensemble

HODGSON SINGERS

UNIVERSITY CHORUS

FOR THE LIVING

MUSIC OF CONSOLATION AND RESOLVE