Mackenzie Melemed, pianist 556 W. 126th St #53 New York, NY 10027

Transcription

1 Mackenzie Melemed, pianist 556 W. 126th St #53 New York, NY Education: The Juilliard School, Master of Music 2018, anticipated The Juilliard School, Bachelor of Music 2017 Bancroft School, MA, High School Diploma 2013 Principal Teachers: Robert McDonald, The Juilliard School present Alexander Korsantia, New England Conservatory Olga Rogach William Smiddy present Dean Arvidson Coaches/Masterclasses: Emanuel Ax, Marc Durand, Vladimir Feltsman, Stephen Hough Joseph Kalichstein, Robert Levin, Hamish Milne, Hiroko Nakamura Patricia Rogers, Sylvia Rosenberg, Susan Starr, Nelita True, Tamaš Ungár Award Highlights: 4th Maj Lind Intl. Piano Competition, Finland - 1st Prize and Chamber Music Prize 2017 Iowa International Piano Competition - 1st Prize and Commissioned Work Prize 2017 The Juilliard School Gina Bachauer Competition - Winner th Hamamatsu Intl Piano Academy Competition, Japan - 1st Prize 2014 Gina Bachauer Intl. Young Artists Piano Competition, UT - 5th Prize 2012 The New York International Piano Competition - Commissioned Work Prize 2012 Music Worcester Competition, MA - 1st Prize 2008 Bradshaw and Buono Intl. Piano Competition, NY - Grand Prize 2006 Solo Appearance Highlights: Mänttä Music Festival, FI Aug 2018 Prix de Piano Bern, CH Feb 2018 Salle Cortot, Paris, FR Feb 2018 Finlandia Foundation of Boston, MA 2017 PianoEspoo Festival, Espoo, FI 2017 Explorers Club, NY 2017 Sioux City Arts Center, IA 2017 Canisius College, NY 2017 Bennington Center for the Arts, VT 2017 Sanctuary Series, S. Salem, NY 2017 Quick Center, Fairfield University, CT 2017 Bancroft School, Worcester, MA 2017 Pornaisten Seurakunta (Pornainen Church), Pornainen, FI 2016 American Spring Music Festival, Czech Republic 2013 EduBoston Cultural Exchanges, China 2013 From the Top: NEC Jordan Hall, Boston, MA 2009 From the Top: Live at Carnegie Hall, NY 2008 ASCAP Awards, Jazz at Lincoln Center, NY 2007 Performances at The White House Holiday Open House

2 Concerto Appearance Highlights: Florence Symphony, SC: Terry Roberts, conductor Nov 2018 Oulu Symphony, FI Oct 2018 Kuopio Philharmonic, FI: Ralf Gothoni, conductor Oct 2018 Helsinki Philharmonic, FI: Pablo Gonzales, conductor Oct 2018 Downtown Sinfonietta, NY: Vincent Lionti, conductor May 2018 Massachusetts Symphony, MA: Jorge Soto, conductor 2017 Sioux City Symphony, IA: Ryan Haskins, conductor 2017 Helsinki Philharmonic, Finland: Anna-Maria Helsing, conductor 2017 Sioux City Symphony, IA: Ryan Haskins, conductor 2017 Downtown Sinfonietta, NY: Vincent Lionti, conductor 2017 Florence Symphony, SC: Terry Roberts, conductor 2017 Venice Symphony, FL 2016 New England Philharmonic, MA: Richard Pittman, conductor 2010 Boston Civic Symphony, MA: Max Hobart, conductor 2009 Childhood Outreach and Volunteerism: Music with Mackenzie: Melemed created an educational outreach program in Worcester County, MA, going into schools and sharing his musical story and passion. He encouraged students to find their passions, share their talents and interests with the audience, and he provided them with steps on how to share them in their communities Heart to Heart Fundraisers: Melemed was a performer and master of ceremonies in numerous benefit concerts and variety shows throughout central Massachusetts. These performances benefitted children with life-threatening diseases, and helped to offset heavy costs incurred by medical treatment Concerts for Senior Citizens: Melemed gave free concerts multiple times a month at nursing homes in central Massachusetts between the ages of five and ten American Heart Association: Melemed performed during the AHA s National Wear Red Day at Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester, MA. The annual celebration honors the efforts to combat heart disease Beauty and the Kid: Melemed organized a benefit concert with friend and singer, Ms. Junior Teen America Nicole Borelli, with the aims of raising $80,000 to build a safer playground at Melemed s school. The proceeds from the performance, along with numerous private contributions and a donation by Wayne Brady, exceeded the monetary goal, and the playground was built the following year Lupus Foundation of MA: Melemed was the featured guest performer, alongside Lily Tomlin at the home of Susan Wornick, an ABC Boston news anchor. The gala honored those who have battled Lupus, with proceeds given directly to the organization Television Appearances: The Sharon Osbourne Show, CA 2004 The Wayne Brady Show, CA 2003 The Rosie O Donnell Show, NY 2001

3 Resume: Mackenzie Melemed s career can be best described as serendipitous. When Melemed was three, his grandfather bought him a keyboard at a yard sale, leading to his enrollment in a beginner piano course. Performances at local senior centers soon became a weekly occurrence, and by the time Melemed turned seven, he had given over 200 concerts for senior citizens and charitable organizations. 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. Melemed was not only interested in the piano, but also in acting. He completed a pre-professional actor training program and appeared in three nationally-televised commercials. He was even cast as the young Mozart on a Discovery Channel documentary featuring musicologist Robert Levin. One scene required Melemed to lie in bed with scarlet fever, while another placed him at the harpsichord, blindfolded, performing Mozart s earliest compositions in full eighteenth-century attire, powdered will and all! Melemed s final foray into the acting sphere occurred when he was contracted to be the headliner of a talent show at the Tropicana Resort in Atlantic City; at nine years old, Melemed opened sixty-two shows at the famed hotel, performing for thousands on an electric keyboard. These commercials and appearances in Atlantic City paid for a new upright piano. A series of small local performances connected Melemed with a campaign organizer for President George W. Bush, and Melemed was invited to perform at the White House Holiday Open House for five consecutive years. Following a small-town church performance in 2003, an audience member took an interest in Melemed, and soon after a local group of donors helped Melemed afford formal classical training, sending him to study with Olga Rogach in Worcester in Within a year, Melemed won the grand prize at the Bradshaw and Buono International Piano Competition, resulting in his debut performance at Carnegie s Weill Recital Hall. Melemed was encouraged to expand his musical horizons, and attended intensive summer festivals including Summer Sonatina in Bennington, VT, and The Walden School, a composition-focused festival in New Hampshire. For his music work at The Walden School, Melemed was awarded the ASCAP Irving Berlin Summer Camp Scholarship, resulting in a performance at Jazz at Lincoln Center. Melemed s success at the 2008 Music Worcester Young Artist Competition earned him the support of many new local donors, allowing him to enroll at Bancroft School in Worcester, MA, with nearly full scholarship assistance. Melemed took advantage of the enhanced musical opportunities, performing in a chamber music group and accompanying the school musicals. Melemed performs medleys from Thoroughly Modern Millie, 42nd Street, and Urinetown as a tribute to his Bancroft experience. Melemed won the 5th Prize at the 2012 Gina Bachauer International Young Artists Piano Competition in Utah. As a result, he was invited to perform in the Czech Republic, Melemed s first international travel experience. An extended layover in Helsinki piqued Melemed s interest in one of the most difficult foreign languages, Finnish. After Melemed was accepted to The Juilliard School, he began studying Finnish at Columbia University. Melemed completed three years of Finnish study, returned to Finland to meet a pen-pal he had been corresponding with, and gave his Finnish debut recital at a small church. Melemed heard about an upcoming piano competition in Finland and decided to apply. Following two solo rounds, live improvisation, a piano quintet performance, and a piano concerto performance with the Helsinki Philharmonic, Melemed was awarded the 1st Prize and Chamber Music Prize at the 4th Maj Lind International Piano Competition in August Melemed is passionate about performing new and underplayed repertoire. He took an immediate interest in the music of Israeli-American composer Avner Dorman after performing his Three Etudes and winning the Commissioned Etudes Prize at the 2012 New York International Piano Competition. Melemed recently championed Dorman s Sonata No.2. Melemed programs the music of Medtner, lesser-known

4 Beethoven sonatas, and, more recently, works by Finnish composers. Melemed values education as much as performance, and his verbal program notes often explain compositional styles and discuss historical circumstances behind a work s conception. Melemed leaves his audience excited about classical music, often eager to further research an intriguing composer or work. Melemed s love for travel has only grown with his busy performance schedule. After winning the 1st Prize at the 9th Iowa International Piano Competition, Melemed made his second appearance with the Sioux City Symphony performing Liszt s Totentanz at their Halloween concert. A day after returning from Iowa, Melemed performed a solo recital in New York, sponsored by the Stecher and Horowitz Foundation, the organizer of the New York International Piano Competition. Over Veterans Day weekend, Melemed gave a solo recital in Finland and then flew to Sarasota, Florida to participate in a chamber music performance. In December, Melemed performed twice in Massachusetts. One concert celebrated 100 years of Finnish independence in Boston, and the second celebrated the holiday season in Worcester, where Melemed performed Beethoven s Choral Fantasy with the Massachusetts Symphony Orchestra. Melemed looks forward to performing a solo recital at Salle Cortot in Paris and competing in the Prix de Piano Bern in Switzerland next month. Accepted into The Juilliard School s prestigious accelerated five-year-dual-degree program, Melemed has received his Bachelor of Music degree and is currently completing his Master of Music degree. Under the tutelage of Robert McDonald, Melemed owes his successes to a tremendous musical upbringing and to the constant support and love from his family. Former teachers include Dean Arvidson, Alexander Korsantia, Olga Rogach and Bill Smiddy. Additionally, Melemed has been honored to work with distinguished artists, such as Emanuel Ax, Vladimir Feltsman, Stephen Hough, Robert Levin, Susan Starr, and Nelita True, among others. Melemed takes every opportunity he can to impact the lives of others with his passion, increasing his odds of heading down a new serendipitous path on his musical journey.

5 Solo Repertoire ( Present): J.S. Bach English Suite No.3 in G Minor BWV 808 French Suite No.2 in C Minor BWV 813 French Suite No.5 in G major BWV 816 Prelude and Fugue in B-Flat Minor (WTC Book I) Prelude and Fugue in C Minor (WTC Book II) B. Bartok Sonata Sz. 80 L. van Beethoven Sonata Op.10 No.3 in D Major Sonata Op.27 No.1 in E-Flat Major Sonata Op.54 in F Major J. Brahms Sonata No.2 in F-Sharp Minor Op.2 F. Busoni Sonatina No.2 BV259 F. Chopin Ballade No.3 in A-Flat Major Op.47 Etude Op.10 No.8 Mazurkas Op.30 Nocturne Op.15 No.2 in F-Sharp Major C. Debussy L isle Joyeuse L.106 A. Dorman (b.1970) Sonata No.2 Three Etudes (Commissioned for the 2012 NY International Piano Competition) J. Haydn Sonata in E Minor Hob.XVI:34 F. Liszt Funérailles N. Medtner Canzona Matinata Op.39 No.4 Sonata Tragica Op.39 No.5

6 M. Mussorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition S. Prokofiev Sonata No.4 in C Minor Op.29 S. Rachmaninoff Selected Etudes-Tableaux Op.33 Etude-Tableaux Op.39 No.1 in F Minor Six Moments Musicaux Op.16 G. Rochberg Nach Bach C. Saint-Säens Danse Macabre (arr. F. Liszt) F. Schubert Sonata in C Minor D.958 R. Schumann Faschingsschwank Aus Wien Op.26 Kinderszenen Op.15 Symphonic Etudes Op.16 J. Sibelius Valse Triste J. ter Veldhuis (b.1951) The Body Of Your Dreams (2007) Concerti Repertoire ( Present) L. van Beethoven Piano Concerto No.3 in C Minor Op.37 Choral Fantasy Op.80 W. A. Mozart Piano Concerto No.23 in A Major K.488 E. Grieg Piano Concerto in A Minor Op.16 F. Liszt Totentanz S.126

7 D. Shostakovich Piano Concerto No.1 in C Minor Op.35 Chamber Music Repertoire ( Present) J. Brahms Piano Quartet No.3 in C Minor Op.60 A. Dvořák Piano Quintet No.2 in A Major Op.81 J. Français Trio for Oboe, Bassoon and Piano G. Jacob Sextet for Piano and Winds Op.6 J. Jongen Rhapsodie for Piano and Woodwind Quintet Op.70 F. Poulenc Trio for Oboe, Bassoon and Piano FP 43 Sextet for Piano and Wind Quintet Op.100 F. Schubert Piano Trio No.2 in E-Flat Major Op.100 R. Schumann Piano Quintet in E-Flat Major Op.44 B. Smetana Piano Trio in G Minor Op.15

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