Release Date: February 6, 2009
Pianist Jeri-Mae Astolfi will be in residence at Kennesaw State
For media inquiries: Cheryl Anderson Brown, Director of Public Relations,
770-499-3417 or cbrown@kennesaw.edu
KENNESAW, Ga.—Canadian pianist Jeri-Mae G. Astolfi will serve as an artist-in-residence in early March at Kennesaw State University. During her residency, she will perform a piano recital at 8 p.m. March 5 in the Dr. Bobbie Bailey & Family Performance Center. The recital will feature music by contemporary composers written for a solo pianist. She also will conduct a master class for KSU piano majors at 4 p.m. March 6 in the Bailey Center. Both events are free and open to the public.
Astolfi is a highly regarded pianist with well-developed technical skills. Her work focuses largely on the works of American contemporary composers living and working today. Astolfi’s works include, among many others, recordings on the Society of Composers Inc. Performers’ Recording Series. The series consists of “Mélange: New Music for Piano” and “Sonance: New Music for Piano,” as well as the latest in the series, “Chroma: New Music for Piano,” which was released on Jan. 13 and features a recording composed by Kennesaw State’s composer-in-residence Laurence Sherr. Astolfi has described Sherr’s composition, “Nocturne,” as “a fetching tribute to Debussy.”
Last January, Astolfi performed a national CD release tour for “Chroma” that included stops at UCLA, San Jose State, East Kentucky University, University of Alabama and the Society of Composers’ National Conference.
Astolfi’s residency is the third stop on a short tour consisting of a concert on Feb. 26 at her home institution, the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh, and another concert on March 3 at Miami University at Oxford, Ohio. Her recital at Kennesaw State will include seven of the 12 compositions from “Chroma,” as well as other works by contemporary composers.
For additional information and directions to the Dr. Bobbie Bailey & Family Performance Center, contact the KSU Box Office at 770-423-6650 or online at www.kennesaw.edu/arts.
# # #
A member of the 35-unit University System of Georgia, Kennesaw State University is a comprehensive, residential institution with a growing student population of more than 21,000 from 142 countries. The third-largest university in Georgia, Kennesaw State offers more than 65 graduate and undergraduate degrees, including new doctorates in education and business.
The KSU College of the Arts is one of only four Georgia institutions to have achieved full national accreditation for all of its arts programs.