NATCHITOCHES – The Department of Music at Northwestern State University will hold NSU Piano Day on Saturday, March 14 at 1:30 p.m. in Magale Recital Hall.
The event is for students in grade five and up. All levels from beginners to advanced piano players are welcome, according to Associate Professor of Piano Dr. Francis Yang.
Yang said Piano Day will include mini lessons with NSU piano faculty, a workshop with guest artist, Dr. Igor Lipinski in which he’ll also be teaching everyone a magic trick, an opportunity to play in a recital, a goody bag, a pizza party and snacks and two tickets to Dr. Lipinski’s recital.
The registration fee for piano day is $50. For more information and to register, go to https://www.nsula.edu/academics/colleges-and-schools/school-of-creative-and-performing-arts/music/piano-day/
Lipinski’s recital is at 5:30 p.m. in Magale Recital Hall. He will perform his show “Piano Illusions” which combines Lipinski performing at the piano with magic. Lipinski is an accomplished pianist and a professional magician. The concert is part of the Louisiana Piano Series International. Tickets are $15 for the recital. Northwestern, BPCC@NSU and Louisiana School for Math, Science and the Arts students are admitted free with a current student I.D. A livestream will be available at www.nsu.la/CAPA-LIVE. Yang is director of the of the Louisiana Piano Series International.
From the iconic Caroline’s on Broadway in New York City to the historic Mozarthaus in Vienna, Lipinski has captivated audiences worldwide with his one-of-a-kind show.
Piano Illusions has been presented across Asia, Europe, and all over the United States, including the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Musica del Cuore Concert Series in Hong Kong, Mozarthaus Museum in Vienna, The Greene Space in New York City, and with symphony orchestras such as the Rochester Philharmonic and the Lakes Area Music Festival Orchestra. Teller of the Las Vegas duo Penn & Teller calls Igor “an original” and the Buffalo News described his performances as “magical.”
Presented in two formats, the solo version of the show offers an intimate encounter of music and magic.
Polish-born Lipinski made his orchestra debut performing Paderewski’s “Piano Concerto” with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor JoAnn Falletta on NPR’s Performance Today. As an orchestra soloist, he has appeared with the Rochester Philharmonic, Cape Cod Symphony, Woodstock Mozart Festival, Lakes Area Music Festival, Oklahoma City Philharmonic, Shreveport Symphony, Norman Philharmonic, and Paderewski Symphony Orchestra at Chicago’s Symphony Center. His concerto repertoire spans from Mozart and Chopin to Bacewicz and Yoshimatsu.
A passionate recording artist, Lipinski has released multiple albums on Spotify and Apple Music through his own concept record label, Vanishing Records, including “Alchemy,” “Ravel,” “Masterpieces, “Liszt” and his most recent release, “In Tears,” dedicated to the piano music of Leoš Janáček. He is a voting member of The Recording Academy.