| Dynamic duo - Amy Briggs-Dissanayake (front) and Amy Williams (back) ... Dynamic duo - Amy Briggs-Dissanayake (front) and Amy Williams (back) rehearse for their performance on Friday night. |
Dynamic US piano duo to perform at UOW
6 Aug 2008 | Kate McIlwain
As part of an ongoing Artist in Residence program, two well-known pianists from the United States are visiting the Faculty of Creative Arts.
Amy Williams and Amy Briggs-Dissanayake bring their international expertise to the School of Music and Drama and will be sharing their knowledge and experience with students and staff during their visit.
The acclaimed piano duo will conduct workshops with undergraduate students in the Sound-Composition and Production program and will speak at a Postgraduate Research Seminar on August 7.
The highlight of the residency will be a public concert of 20th century masterpieces and cutting edge works for piano on Friday 8 August. The concert will also feature the world premiere of Williams’ composition, Astoria, while Briggs-Dissanayake will perform a selection of soon to be released recordings of 20th and 21st century tangos for solo piano.
The Head of School, Music and Drama, Professor Sarah Miller said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for the students to work with musicians of outstanding calibre and offers Illawarra audiences the unique chance to experience extraordinary music by internationally renowned performers.”
As well as works by renowned 20th century composers, a new work from Houston Dunleavy, Senior Lecturer in Composition, Faculty of Creative Arts, will be performed at the concert on Friday evening.
Amy Williams holds a PhD in Composition from the State University of New
York in Buffalo and has appeared as a pianist and composer at renowned contemporary music venues across the globe. As a pianist she has recorded for Mode and Hat-Art Records and has received numerous industry awards.
Chicago based Amy Briggs-Dissanayake has established herself internationally as a leading interpreter of music by living composers. She studied at Northwestern University, where she earned her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano Performance. She is a featured soloist and chamber musician in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra series, where she has worked with many distinguished composers.
Admission to this one time only concert is open to all Illawarra music lovers and is free of charge. Bookings not required.
When: Friday 8 August, 6.30pm
Where: FCA Theatre, Room 107, Building 25, Faculty of Creative
Arts.
Cost: Free
For more information on the concert program see http://www.uow.edu.au/crearts/.
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