(BRANCHBURG, NJ) -- The Raritan Valley Community College (RVCC) Arts & Design department will present “Piano Pastiche,” an afternoon of music featuring pianist Anna Keiserman, Sunday, June 6 at 2:00pm. The virtual performance is the department’s final selection in a concert series launched to help defray the cost of private instructional lessons for RVCC music majors.
Streamed live from RVCC’s Welpe Theatre, the concert will feature works by Sergei Rachmaninoff, Rodion Shchedrin and Jordi Cervelló. It will be available live on their Facebook Page.
The “Piano Pastiche” miniatures program is a musical and artistic presentation of works influenced by old masters, with pieces inspired by the realm of visual art. The program features a rich tapestry of Russian and Iberian music, ranging from the sweeping romanticism of Rachmaninoff, to the quirky and energetic folk idioms of Shchedrin, to the vibrant colors of Catalan composer Jordi Cervelló (a North American premiere). The music brings the listener on a “journey” through place and time, conjuring up the shared experiences of the people, as well as the diverse landscapes and dramatic upheavals of their countries.
The performance is part of the department’s MOZAIKA Concert Series, created to promote multicultural dialogue through the performance of music from the classical canon through the 21st Century. To watch the performance, visit their Facebook Page.
Dr. Anna Keiserman is an Assistant Professor of Music at RVCC. On her recent debut album, Russian Mosaic, the pianist offers rarely heard gems by Rachmaninoff, Shchedrin, Smirnov and Medtner. Her performance credits include Le Poisson Rouge, Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, and the Fête de La Musique. As a soloist she has performed works by Rachmaninoff, Haydn, Beethoven and Arensky with the Volgograd Symphony Orchestra. Dr. Keiserman’s awards include top prizes in two International Piano Competitions in Russia and the 2017 “Culture and Art” award from the New Russia Cultural Center. She has served as a faculty member at the NYU Steinhardt School of the Arts, at the Rutgers University Extension Division, and at William Paterson University. Dr. Keiserman received degrees from the Gnessin Russian Academy of Music and the University of Minnesota and recently completed her Doctorate in Piano Performance from Rutgers University, earning the Elizabeth Wyckoff Durham Award for academic distinction and excellence in piano performance.
A post-performance, online discussion with the artist will follow the program. The concerts in the MOZAIKA Concert Series are free of charge, but donations are accepted and will go to the RVCC Applied Music Fund to help the College’s music majors pay for private lessons on their primary instruments.
The concert also will be available for viewing after the initial performance date.
The MOZAIKA Concert Series is made possible by funds from the Somerset County Cultural & Heritage Commission, a partner of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.
RVCC is located at 118 Lamington Road in Branchburg, New Jersey.
