BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//wp-events-plugin.com//7.2.3.1//EN BEGIN:VEVENT UID:36@grandpianoseries.org DTSTART;TZID=Pacific/Easter:20210322T193000 DTEND;TZID=Pacific/Easter:20210322T210000 DTSTAMP:20230731T001959Z URL:https://grandpianoseries.org/events/mackenzie-melemed/ SUMMARY:Mackenzie Melemed DESCRIPTION:\n\n\n\nWinner of the Jade Medal at the 2019 China Internationa l Music Competition and recipient of The Juilliard School's 2019 Leo B. Ru iz Carnegie Hall Recital Prize and 2018 Arthur Rubinstein Piano Prize\, 25 -year-old American pianist Mackenzie Melemed’s international career cont inues to flourish. Praised by the New York Times as an "excellent young pi anist" he has performed throughout the United States\, in China\, the Czec h Republic\, Finland\, France\, Japan\, Korea\, Poland\, Sweden and Switze rland.\n\n\n\n\nHe was recently named one of ten recipients of The Juilli ard School's Career Advancement Grant\, providing up to $20\,000 in supple mental support through 2022. He appears on the 2020 roster for the Centre for Musical Excellence and was selected a finalist of the 2021 American Pi anist Association Awards. The distinction comes with an elevated cash pri ze of $50\,000 awarded to all finalists due to the exceptional circumstanc es surrounding COVID-19.\n​\nAt the start of the COVID-19 pandemic\, Mel emed transformed his New York City apartment into a home studio\, performi ng concerts via live-stream and offering virtual lessons to students aroun d the world. He often collaborated with his roommate\, violinist Max Tan\, for Groupmuse performances and appearance\non the New Asia Chamber Music Society Facebook page. Melemed teaches on the Play With a Pro and Resonanc e platforms\, and offers mini-lectures and monthly live-streamed performan ces on Patreon. More info can be found on his website\, www.mackenziemele med.com.  As of August\, Melemed is living in Finland\, where he hopes to establish a new home base.\n​\nRecent notable engagements included his debut recital at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall\, recitals at Paris ’ Salle Cortôt\, the Santa Barbara International Music Festival in Sard inia\, Italy\, and a performance of\nRachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with Yannick Nezet-Seguin and the Philadelphia Orchestra\, Oth er performances from the 2019-20 season took place in Finland\, France\, S outh Korea\, and throughout the United States. In October 2019\, Warner Cl assics released “Möbius”\, featuring Melemed’s\nperformance of the Jeajoon Ryu Piano Concerto with conductor Ralf Gothóni and Sinfonia Var sovia.\n​\n2018-19 season engagements of note included the Symphony pre miere of Barber’s Piano Concerto with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orche stra\,the European premiere of South Korean composer Jeajoon Ryu’s Pian o Concerto with Ralf Gothóni and the Kuopio City Orchestra\, a subsequen t tour of the Ryu Concerto with the KBS Symphony (Korea) at the Beethoven Easter Festival in Poland\, a solo recital at WQXR’s The Greene Space\, Grieg’s Piano Concerto with the Massachusetts Symphony Orchestra\, and \nperformances at the Glafsfjordens Music Festival in Sweden with the Davi d Oistrakh Quartet. In 2018\, Melemed’s recording of Avner Dorman’s T hree Etudes was released on the Steinway and Sons label.\n​\nIn May 201 9\, Mackenzie Melemed won 3rd Prize in the 1st China International Music C ompetition\, performing Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini  in the final round with The Philadelphia Orchestra under the baton of Ma estro Yannick Nézet-Séguin at the National Center for Performing\nArts i n Beijing. Additional honors include 1st Prize and Chamber Music Prize at the 4th Maj Lind International Piano Competition (August 2017)\, 1st Prize and Commissioned Work Prize at the 2017 Iowa International Piano Competit ion\, 5th Prize at the 2012 Gina Bachauer International Young Artists Pian o Competition in Utah\, and the Commissioned Etudes Prize of the 2012 New York International Piano Competition.\n​\nAt the age of three\, Melemed ’s grandfather bought him a keyboard at a yard sale\, leading to his enr ollment in a beginner piano course. Performances at local senior centers s oon became a weekly occurrence\, and by the time Melemed turned seven\, he had given over 200 concerts for senior citizens and charitable organizati ons. When Melemed appeared on The Rosie O’Donnell Show\, she remarked\, “what a bargain!” at the $1 price-tag for the instrument that ignited his passion for music. A series of small local performances connected Mele med with Washington D.C. in 2004\, and he was invited to perform at the Wh ite House Holiday Open House for five consecutive years. In 2007\, only on e year after beginning classical training\, Melemed won the grand prize at the Bradshaw and Buono International Piano Competition and gave his Carne gie Hall debut.\n\nMelemed is a recent graduate of the two-year Artist Di ploma program at The Juilliard School with Robert McDonald and Emanuel Ax.  Melemed also holds a Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degree from T he Juilliard School\, where he graduated from its prestigious accelerated five-year-dual-degree program. Former teachers include Dean Arvidson\, Ale xander Korsantia\, Olga Rogach and William Smiddy Additionally\, Melemed h as been honored to work with distinguished artists\, such as Vladimir Felt sman\, Stephen Hough\, Pavel Gililov\, Robert Levin\, Susan Starr\, Nelita True\, and Arie Vardi\, among many others. In addition to English and Fre nch\, Melemed is fluent in Finnish and studied the language at Columbia Un iversity for three years.\n\n\n\n\n\nProgram\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBach: Partita No.1\nBartok: Suite Op.14\nScriabin: Preludes Op.16\nChopin: Nocturnes Op. 15 No.2 and Op.32 no.2\nSchumann: Symphonic Etudes Op.13\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n\n\nGet Tickets\n\n ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://i0.wp.com/grandpianoseries.org/wp-conten t/uploads/2023/01/DSC_3139_kateliu-8.webp?fit=680%2C386&ssl=1 CATEGORIES:Past Events END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:Pacific/Easter X-LIC-LOCATION:Pacific/Easter BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20200905T230000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0600 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:-05 END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR