Ursula Oppens, a legend among American pianists, is widely admired particularly for her original and perceptive readings of new music, but also for her knowing interpretations of the standard repertoire. No other artist alive today has commissioned and premiered more new works for the piano.
A prolific and critically acclaimed recording artist with five Grammy nominations, Oppens most recently released a new recording of Frederic Rzewski’s The People United Will Never Be Defeated, nominated for a Grammy in 2016, and Piano Songs, a collaboration with Meredith Monk. Ms. Oppens recently added to her extensive discography by releasing a two-piano CD for Cedille Records devoted to Visions de l’Amen of Oliver Messiaen and Debussy’s En blanc et noir performed with pianist Jerome Lowenthal.
Over the years, Oppens has premiered works by such leading composers as John Adams, Luciano Berio, William Bolcom, Anthony Braxton, John Corigliano, György Ligeti and Witold Lutoslawski, to name a few.
As an orchestral guest soloist, Oppens has performed with virtually all of the world’s major orchestras. She is also an avid chamber musician.
Ursula Oppens is a Distinguished Professor of Music at Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate Center in New York City; she also joined the faculty of Mannes College, the New School, in fall 2017. In 2019, Oppens was awarded an honorary doctorate from the New England Conservatory. From 1994 through the end of the 2007–2008 academic year she served as John Evans Distinguished Professor of Music at Northwestern University. In addition, she has served as a juror for many international competitions.
Adrian Anantawan holds degrees from the Curtis Institute of Music, Yale University and the Harvard Graduate School of Education. As a violinist, he has studied with Itzhak Perlman and Pinchas Zuker-man, and Anne-Sophie Mutter; his academic work in education was supervised by Howard Gardner. Memorable moments include performances at the White House and the United Nations. He has played for the late Christopher Reeve, Pope John Paul II and His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Anantawan has performed extensively in Canada as a soloist with the Orchestras of Toronto, Nova Scotia, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Montreal, Edmonton and Vancouver. He has also presented feature recitals at the Aspen Music Festival and Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. Anantawan represented Canada as a cultural ambassador in the 2006 Olympics and was a featured performer at the 2010 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremonies. Adrian helped to create the Virtual Chamber Music Initia-tive at the Holland Bloorview Kids Rehab Centre.
From 2012–2016, he was the co-director of Music at the Conservatory Lab Charter School, serving students from the Boston area, kindergarten through grade eight—his work was recognized by Mayor Marty Walsh as a ONEin3 Impact Award in 2015. Adrian is also Juno Award nominee, a member of the Terry Fox Hall of Fame and was awarded a Diamond Jubilee Medal from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for his contributions to the Commonwealth. He is chair of music at Milton Academy, the artistic director of Shelter Music Boston and is on faculty at Boston University Tanglewood Institute.
American Academy Fellowship recipient, International Musician cover artist, and Song of the Untouchable documentary film subject, University of Colorado professor Gregory Walker has appeared with the Philadelphia Orchestra and at the U.S. Library of Congress.
Artina McCain is an acclaimed pianist, educator and speaker. Known for promulgating the work of Black composers, she has five award-winning albums and arranged 24 African-American Folk Songs for the Hal Leonard series.
Prizewinning pianist Lori Wolf Walker received her master's degree in piano performance from the University of Colorado Boulder. She has performed in Greece, Norway, Cuba, Ireland and points beyond as part of the Walker Duo.