| They hail from Armenia, France, Hong Kong, Texas and New York. They teach, they perform, they lecture, they record, they give master classes and workshops. They are the five judges for the 12th Missouri Southern International Piano Competition scheduled for April 21–26, 2008, on campus in Joplin. Their biographies read like a Who's Who of today's world of classical music.
Nancy Weems, professor of piano at the Moores School of Music of the University of Houston, was on the jury for the 2006 competition and returns this year as senior judge. As a teacher she has received numerous awards for excellence and many of her students, after having won top awards in many piano competitions, have gone on to professional careers as performers and teachers. She is a frequent presenter at the Music Teachers National Association Convention and the World Piano Pedagogy Conferences. As a concert pianist, she has performed extensively throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia, Mexico, and the former Soviet Union and has appeared as a solo artist and in conjunction with many renowned orchestras. Her recording, "Classical Hollywood," was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1990.
Weems will perform the opening concert of the competition beginning at 8 p.m. on Monday, Apr. 21 in Webster Hall by presenting the works of Bach, Schumann, Gershwin, and William Albright. Critics have called her "a rare treasure, an extraordinary pianist, grand in scope, and powerful in her interpretation, possessing fantastic technique."
Evelyne Crochet, currently making her home in New York City, was born and educated in Paris, France, where as a student she won a first prize at the Paris Conservatory. She studied with Edwin Fischer in Switzerland, and, in Bern, was invited by Rudolf Serkin to study with him in the US. She has held artist-in-residence and faculty positions at Brandeis, Rutgers, Boston, and Georgia State and has served on the faculty at the New England Conservatory in Boston. She has performed on major stages of Europe and the Americas, both as a soloist and with orchestras. Her vast repertoire spans over three centuries, and her recordings include works of Bach, Debussy, Schubert, Gabriel Faure, and Erik Satie.
Erna Gulabyan, a native of Armenia, chaired the judging panel for the 2002 MSIPC. After beginning her musical training at the Yerevan Central Music High School for especially gifted children, she continued her training at the Moscow Conservatory before immigrating to the us where she now teaches at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Many of Gulabyan's students have won local, national, and international competitions after taking advantage of her special interest in training young concert artists.
Gabriel Kwok was born in Hong Kong and studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London from 1972 to 1978 and in 1984 joined the faculty of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts where he has been head of keyboard studies since 1989. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music in 2003. Kwok has served as visiting faculty at a number of musical institutions including several in the US. He has collaborated with many distinguished artists in concerts and given master classes in cities in Asia, Britain, Germany, the US, Australia, and New Zealand.
Barry Snyder has been professor of piano at the Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester, New York, since 1970. He won three major prizes at the 1966 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, and since then has recorded nearly 40 CDs and given concerts worldwide, spanning over four decades. He is a founding member of the Eastman Trio, whose recordings of the complete chamber music of Schubert and Russian "Romantic" trios have received critical acclaim. He is well known as a chamber music collaborator, having recorded complete works of Stravinsky for violin and piano, Schumann and Brahms violin and piano sonatas, and music for cello and piano of Gabriel Faure.
Snyder will present a lecture entitled "What it Takes to be a Modern Musician" beginning at 10 a.m., Saturday, Apr. 26, 2008, in Webster Hall. The free lecture will be presented to the public and especially to students who are preparing for careers in music.
Admission information
Competition rounds are free of charge and open to the public. Free passes for the evening concerts on April 21 and 26 are available for students and seniors. General admission is $15. For tickets and further information phone (417) 625-9755 or send an e-mail here.
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