Piano Battle

Saturday, April 22, 2023

PIANO BATTLE

As a courtesy to the artists and for the uninterrupted enjoyment of your fellow patrons, please turn off all electronic devices. No portion of this performance may be photographed, recorded, filmed, taped, broadcast or mechanically reproduced without the written consent of the Artist and/or the Presenter. Mayo Performing Arts Center is not responsible for lost or stolen items. Program subject to change.

April 22, 2023

MAYO PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

Piano Battle

The brainchild of internationally accomplished pianists Andreas Kern and Paul Cibis, the PIANO BATTLE sees the duo go head-to-head on stage, charming and enchanting the audience with a variety of classical pieces. The two artists, with distinctly different performance styles, take turns to perform pieces by composers such as Chopin, Liszt and Debussy. They will even improvise based on the tunes you request.

Paul Cibis

Educated in Hanover, Berlin, and London, Paul Cibis has performed on five continents and established an international presence. He has been invited to international festivals in the UK, Germany, USA, South Africa, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand. In addition to his many concert appearances, he has been featured in radio and television programs around the world, including the BBC, WDR, 3Sat, ORB, HR, RTHK, and CCTV.

Paul has released several albums, including a collection of French mélodies and piano works by Berlioz, Fauré and Debussy, in collaboration with German mezzosoprano Barbara Senator. His latest album features a collection of solo pieces by Taiwanese composer Kai-nan Huang.

A committed pedagogue, Paul has taught at Trinity College of Music in London and frequently gives master classes in Germany, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea.

Andreas Kern

Born in South Africa, Andreas Kern studied piano in Cologne and Berlin with Günter Ludwig and Pascal Devoyon. As a soloist and chamber musician, he has extensive experience in Europe, Canada, Hong Kong, China, Japan, India and South Africa.

Keen to present classical music in unconventional ways, Andreas has developed concert projects and formats that often feature unorthodox venues, or whereby musicians collaborate with artists in other fields, such as theatre and dance. Such performances have successfully drawn a much wider and younger audience than traditional classical concerts.

Andreas Kern has also created the critically acclaimed “arte lounge” for the FrenchGerman TV channel Arte. As the showʼs co-host, he has performed with musicians including Mischa Maisky, Renaud Capucon, Sol Gabetta, Sarah Chang, Vadim Repin, Nils Mönkemeyer, Elina Garanca, and Jörg Widmann. He was also the architect of the Piano City Berlin Festival 2010, which featured more than 100 piano performances held in Berlin within one weekend. Since then, Piano City has branched out to other cities such as Milan, Naples and Barcelona.

Outstanding Pianists

Farren Bowers

Grade 12, Kinnelon High School; Kinnelon; Nominated by Ryan Stroud

Farren is a senior here at Kinnelon HS. They have been part of our music program since day one of their high school career. Farren has played clarinet in our Wind Ensemble and Pep Band, but has played Piano in our Pit Orchestra and our Jazz Band. They are one of the most dedicated and reliable musicians that has ever come through our program. Iʼm so grateful to have Farren in our various music programs, and theyʼve done an incredible job in increasing the talent level in all of our groups.

Ojas Kulkarni

Grade 8, Brooklawn Middle School; Parsippany; Nominated by Joseph Stella

Ojas is an 8th grade pianist who has successfully auditioned into our schoolʼs jazz band as well as the pit orchestra for this year's musical “Cinderella.” In addition to being a very fine musician, he is polite, respectful and easy to work with. Ojas would be a fitting recipient of the Outstanding Pianist recognition.

Nathan Li

Grade 8, Randolph Middle School; Randolph; Nominated by Tom Davidson & Genevieve Sallemi

Nathan Li is 14 years old and in the eighth grade at Randolph Middle School (RMS). At RMS, he is a member of the RMS Jazz Ensemble, RMS 8th Grade Orchestra, and RMS Con Brio Select Orchestra. Nathan plays the piano for all three ensembles as well as the cello for Con Brio and 8th Grade Orchestra. Nathan has enjoyed the opportunities to play varied styles of music on the piano within the RMS Music Program. His jazz ensemble director and orchestra director appreciate that Nathan always comes prepared to RMS music rehearsals having prepared his piano music outside of school. This is one of the characteristics that contributes to Nathan acting as a leader within his school music ensembles. Nathan took his first piano lesson when he was just in the first grade, and he started playing the cello at in fourth grade. Since then, he has partaken in the orchestral groups in fifth grade and throughout middle school. Some other extracurricular activities and groups that Nathan has or currently participates in include Model U.N., Math Counts, and Boy Scouts. Model U.N. is an event where students from schools in northern New Jersey gather to draft solutions to modern problems that are

The 2022-2023 Music Student of the Month program is supported by The Walter F. and Alice Gorham Foundation, Inc.

Outstanding Pianists

being addressed by the U.N. Math Counts is a math competition where students from a region compete against each other in math. Nathan ranked 10th place in his respective region. He is also an active participant of his local boy scout troop. Currently, Nathan holds the position of assistant senior patrol leader, aiding the scout that runs his troop. His troop provides service to their community by cleaning up local trails or building improvements for schools.

Aimee Lie

Grade 12, Parsippany High School; Parsippany; Nominated Gregory Dalakian

Aimee Lie has been playing piano for the PHS Jazz Ensemble since the 9th Grade. She has also played piano in numerous other settings (Concert Band, Wind Ensemble, Solo & Small Ensemble Concert, Marching Band) and has greatly contributed to our band program. She is an outstanding musician and has been a dedicated member of our music program all four years of her high school career and has been a role model to her peers as both a musician and young adult.

Ishan Malik

Grade 10, Madison High School; Madison; Nominated by Russ Batsch

Ishan has been an absolute rock star with Piano. As a Freshman, he dove into playing for our Spring Musical. He had no idea what he was getting into. He wound up completely embracing the challenge, and went on to be a reliable and amazing member of that Pit Orchestra. This year, he made the Jazz Ensemble, and became an integral part of the Pit Orchestra again. He is always there to help back up a soloist, or even help a fellow student to learn a part. He auditioned for NJAJE on Piano this year, and only barely missed it. His attitude and love for the instrument will help him to realize his dreams of being a pro player.

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