The Young Artists Series presents Charlie Albright, Award-winning pianist | Press Releases

2 p.m., Sunday, January 15, 2012
Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts
Free Admission

Image: Charlie Albright Winner of the prestigious 2010 Gilmore Young Artist Award, the 2009 Young Concert Artists International Auditions, and the 2006 Stecher and Horowitz Foundation's New York Piano Competition, pianist Charlie Albright performs at 2 p.m., on Sunday, January 15, 2012, at Fairfield University's Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts . The concert is part of the Quick Center's Young Artists Series and is presented in association with The Stecher and Horowitz Foundation . Following the performance, Mr. Albright will take part in a Question & Answer session with the audience. Admission is free and open to the public.

"This program offers a unique opportunity to hear an extremely talented young artist 'up close and personal,' as well as meet with and engage him in conversation after the recital," said Gary Wood, Director of the Quick Center. "We especially encourage piano teachers and piano students to attend this remarkable program."

Born in Centralia, Washington, Charlie Albright began piano lessons at the age of three. He earned an Associate of Science degree at Centralia College while he was in high school and was accepted to the Harvard College/New England Conservatory of Music joint program, where he completed his Bachelor's degree as a Pre-med and Economics major at Harvard in 2011 and is currently pursuing a Master of Music degree in Piano Performance at the New England Conservatory of Music.

At the age of 18, Mr. Albright performed with cellist Yo-Yo Ma at a ceremony at which Senator Ted Kennedy received an honorary degree from Harvard University, and again performed with Mr. Ma in a program commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, featuring Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison. Winner of the 2011 Louis Sudler Prize in the Arts from Harvard University, Mr. Albright has been named the Artist in Residence for Harvard University's Leverett House for 2011-2012, a position last filled by Yo-Yo Ma.

Highlights of Mr. Albright's busy 2011-2012 season include a fourth concert with cellist Yo-Yo Ma, an appearance as soloist with the Phoenix Symphony, and solo recitals at the Irving S. Gilmore International Keyboard Festival and the Morgan Library and Museum, among others.

Mr. Albright won the Paul A. Fish First Prize at the Young Concert Artists International Auditions as well as the Ronald A. Asherson Prize, Summis Auspiciis Prize, the John Browning Prize, the Sander Buchman Prize, the Ruth Laredo Award, and four performance prizes: the Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival Prize, the Friends of Music Concerts Prize for an engagement in Sleepy Hollow, the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival Prize, and the Embassy Series Prize for a concert in Washington, DC. Mr. Albright won the 2008 Harvard Bach Society Orchestra's competition, First Prizes in the 2006 Eastman Piano Competition, and the 2005 IIYM International Competition in Lawrence, Kansas.

He concluded the 2010-2011 season of debuts to critical acclaim, hailed by the Washington Post as being "among the most gifted musicians of his generation." The New York Times praised his "jaw-dropping technique," "intelligently wrought interpretation" and "virtuosity meshed with a distinctive musicality." Mr. Albright made his New York and Kennedy Center recital debuts on the Young Concert Artists Series and at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Orchestral debuts included the San Francisco Symphony with conductor Alondra de la Parra, the Seattle Symphony Orchestra with conductor Gerard Schwarz, and the Boston Pops with conductor Keith Lockhart.

His debut recording Vivace was released in February 2011 with works by Haydn, Menotti, Schumann-Liszt, Janácek, Chopin and Albright.

The Stecher and Horowitz Foundation, through its flagship program, The New York International Piano Competition, is committed to furthering the education, recognition and fostering of a new generation of talented young musicians, directly serving pianists ages 16-21. The Foundation helps aspirants achieve their personal and professional goals through mentoring, career guidance, artistic development, and performance opportunities throughout the year.

For Quick Center Box Office information, call (203) 254-4010, or toll-free 1-877-ARTS-396 (1-877-278-7396). Visit online at www.fairfield.edu/quick .

The Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts is located on the campus of Fairfield University at 1073 North Benson Road in Fairfield, Connecticut. Entrance to the Quick Center is through the Barlow Road gate at 200 Barlow Road. Free, secure parking is available. Access for people with disabilities is available throughout the Quick Center for audience members and performers. Hearing amplification devices are available upon request at the Box Office. Fairfield University is located off exit 22 of Interstate-95. For further information and directions, call (203) 254-4010 or 1-877-278-7396, or visit www.fairfield.edu/quick .