Michael Sheppard Solo Piano Recital

PROGRAM:

Frederic Chopin:
Impromptu no. 1 in A-flat major
Impromptu no. 4 in C-sharp minor("Fantaisie-Impromptu")
Valse Brillante in E-flat major
Grande Valse Brillante in A-flat major
Grande Valse Brillante in A minor
Polonaise in A major("Military")
Polonaise-Fantasy, Op. 61
Polonaise in A-flat major("Heroic")

Tickets: $12

Johannes Brahms:
Six piano pieces, Op. 118

Richard Wagner/arr. Franz Liszt:
Overture to "Tannhäuser"

ABOUT MICHAEL SHEPPARD:

Already known as a pianist of dazzling virtuosity and penetrating musicianship, Michael Sheppard is also spreading his wings as a composer, arranger and transcriber. Trained by the legendary Leon Fleisher and the scholarly but passionate Ann Schein at the Peabody Conservatory, Michael was selected by the American Pianists Association as a Classical Fellow. This designation led to the recording of his Harmonia Mundi CD of 2007 and in late 2012 another recording will be released by Azica, a Cleveland-based label distributed worldwide by Naxos Records.

The APA fellowship provided a tour of Southern Asia and the Middle East, done in collaboration with the US Department of State. During this tour, he performed with numerous national orchestras, played chamber music with resident ensembles, and played in solo recitals as well as diplomatic events. He additionally found time to do master classes and conducted informal presentations in secondary schools and universities.

Back in the US, Mr. Sheppard made his debut at the Kennedy Center and has since performed standard piano repertoire with numerous orchestras nationwide in addition to recitals, more master classes, broadcasts and chamber performances as a member of the Monument Trio. He has returned to Asia, Europe and performed at Carnegie Hall as well. Receiver of a Tanglewood Music Center Fellowship and another from the LaGesse Foundation, Sheppard took a major prize in the National Federation of Music Clubs National Competition.

As an interpreter of great acclaim of operatic transcriptions and musical theater scores, Michael Sheppard today stands at a crossroads, spending large amounts of time writing as well as performing and teaching. He has worked closely with fellow composers John Corigliano, Christopher Theofanidis, Michael Hersch, Robert Sirota and with the late Nicholas Maw, demonstrating a deep love of new music. His catalogue of works, numbering in the dozens, is about to be published and marketed by a new entrepreneurial music publishing company beginning in the fall of 2012.

Michael Sheppard is a native of Philadelphia and resides in Baltimore where he often enjoys performing chamber music with Baltimore Symphony Principal cellist Dariusz Skorazewski and Hong Kong Philharmonic Concertmaster Igor Yuzefovich in the Monument Trio. He is also a teacher at the Baltimore School for the Arts.

Recently, he has reconnected with old friends and fabulous musicians Gwendolyn Burgett, Thomas Rosenkranz, and Svetoslav Stoyanov to form a two-piano, two-percussion music group calling itself "Hammer/Klavier".