 | Amy Briggs Dissanayake and Amy Williams Amy Briggs Dissanayake and Amy Williams |
Dynamic piano duo set to perform at UOW - one evening only!
Friday 8 August, 6.30pm
FCA Theatre, Room 107, Building 25,
Faculty of Creative Arts, University of Wollongong
As part of an ongoing Artist in Residence program, the Faculty of Creative Arts is delighted to welcome two distinguished pianists from the USA. The two bring their international expertise to the School of Music and Drama and will be sharing their knowledge and experience with students and staff during their visit.
The acclaimed piano duo, Amy Williams and Amy Briggs Dissanayake, will conduct workshops with undergraduate students in the Sound-Composition and Production program and will speak to a Postgraduate Research Seminar in the Faculty on 7 August. The highlight of the residency will be a public concert of 20th century masterpieces and cutting edge new works for piano on Friday 8 August from 6.30pm in the Faculty of Creative Arts. The concert will also feature the world premiere of Amy Williams’ composition, Astoria, whilst Ms Dissanayake will perform a selection of soon to be released recordings of 20th and 21st century tangos for solo piano.
The Head of School, Music and Drama, Professor Sarah Miller says, “This is a fantastic opportunity for the students to work with musicians of outstanding calibre and offers Illawarra audiences the unique chance to experience extraordinary music by internationally renowned performers.”
AMY WILLIAMS holds a PhD in composition from the State University of New York in Buffalo, where she also received a Masters degree in piano performance. She has appeared as a pianist and composer at renowned contemporary music venues across the globe and her compositions have been performed by leading contemporary music soloists and ensembles including the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Empyrean Ensemble, the International Contemporary Ensemble and Yvar Mikhashoff. As a pianist, Ms Williams has recorded for MODE and HAT-ART Records and has received numerous industry awards. She will continue her Australian concert tour with performances at the University of Melbourne and the Victorian College of the Arts before returning to the United States to perform at Harvard University, Cambridge, in October. Ms Williams is currently Assistant Professor of Composition/Theory at the University of Pittsburg.
Joining Ms Williams is Chicago based pianist AMY BRIGGS DISSANAYAKE, who has established herself internationally as a leading interpreter of music by living composers. She also brings a fresh perspective to music of the past. She recorded two volumes of David Rakowski’s Piano Etudes on Bridge Records to much critical acclaim, and recently recorded volume 3 in June. Of volume one, US Classics Today said, “Dissanayake does a splendid job projecting the music's wit, and her unflappable virtuosity makes even the densest writing sound effortless...” Ms Dissanayake studied with Ursula Oppens at Northwestern University, where she earned her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano Performance. She is a featured soloist and chamber musician on the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s MusicNOW series, where she has worked with many distinguished composers including Simon Bainbridge, Pierre Boulez and Oliver Knussen.
Also on the program are works by renowned 20th century composers such as György Kurtág, Lukas Foss, Conlon Nancarrow and Lou Harrison, alongside new work from Houston Dunleavy, Senior Lecturer in Composition, Faculty of Creative Arts.
Admission to this one time only concert is open to all Illawarra music lovers and is free of charge. Bookings not required.
|
|
