Published: November 02, 2009 06:48 pm      

Amy Gustafson performs Nov. 8

Special to The Star



GILBERTOWN, Ala. — Amy Gustafson will perform a piano concert Sunday, Nov. 8 on the Ballet and Theatre Arts Performing Companies stage in Gilbertown, Ala. at 2:30 p.m. Tickets are $10. Call (205) 843-5138. Tickets also are on sale at local banks and businesses in Choctaw and Washington Counties.

Born into a musical family her talent was evident at an early age. She began her studies with her grandmother and went on to study with Sandra Polanski in Jackson, Miss. She worked with John Weems in Houston, Texas during the summers. By the age of 15 she had won several competitions, including the prestigious Baldwin competition.

Her success led her to move to New York City, where she continued her studies at the Manhattan School of Music, earning the Bachelor of Music degree under the tutelage of the late pianist and teacher Constance Keene and the Master of Music degree at the New York University, where she was a scholarship student of Miyoko Nakaya Lotto. She completed her Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of Texas at Austin, studying under pianist Anton Nel and Professional studies certificate at Manhattan School of Music as a student of Andre Michele-Schub. She is currently working with Julian Martin, a professor at The Juilliard School.

Currently she enjoys a busy schedule of performing and teaching in the New York area and around the world. Her most recent performances included recitals at Weill Recital Hall of Carnegie Hall, Steinway Hall, the Tenri Cultural Institute, CAMI Hall and the Kosciuszko Foundation, as well as several performances in Canada and in northern Spain. She is on the faculty of both the Third Street Music School Settlement and the Bloomingdale School of Music, is the founding Executive Director of The Stony Brook International Piano Festival in Stony Brook, New York (www.sbipf.org), and serves as a board member and treasurer of the Spanish American Music Council (www.spanishamericanmusiccouncil.org).