Pianists Lewis Zou and Gerardo Teissonnière
Fourteen-year-old pianist Lewis Zou began his formal musical education at the age of five at the Cleveland Institute of Music. In 2010, 2011, and 2013 Lewis won first prize in the Ohio Music Teachers Association District Buckeye Piano Competition. In May of 2011 he made his debut as soloist with orchestra performing Haydn’s Piano Concerto in D Major with the Lakeland Civic Orchestra as a result of winning the Lakeland Civic Orchestra’s Young Artist Competition. In 2012 he was selected to participate in the Gina Bachauer International Junior Piano Competition held in Salt Lake City in June of 2012. He also won the state Music Teachers National Association competition in October of 2012. His performance of the Tchaikovsky First Piano Concerto marks his debut with the Cleveland Pops Orchestra as a result of winning the 2013 Jean L. Petitt Memorial Music Scholarship Competition. Lewis currently studies piano with Gerardo Teissonnière in the Pre-College Piano Division at Cleveland Institute of Music and is an 8th grader at Solon Middle School.
Regarded by international critics and audiences alike as an artist of extraordinary musicianship and rare sensibility since his acclaimed solo recital debut at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., American pianist Gerardo Teissonnière brings to the concert stage an exciting amalgam of the diverse and important musical traditions he represents, performing in major concert series and venues throughout the world. From the Aspen Music Festival in Colorado to the Amati Music Festival in New York and Beijing, among others, Mr. Teissonnière has appeared in solo recital, as soloist with orchestra and with leading duo-piano and chamber music ensembles, as well as in radio and television broadcasts in the United States and abroad.
Recognized as one of the most esteemed and sought-after piano pedagogues in the United States today, Mr. Teissonnière combines an active performance schedule with faculty appointments at the Cleveland Institute of Music and Case Western Reserve University, and serves as Artistic Director of the Piano Department and Artist-in-Residence at the Amati Music Festival in New York. He is the recipient of the Alumni Achievement Award from the Cleveland Institute of Music in recognition of his outstanding accomplishment in the field of piano performance and pedagogy, the Judson Smart Living Award in Education, and has been nominated for the Ohio Arts Council’s Governor’s Award for the Arts.
As a teacher, Mr. Teissonnière is in great demand for his work with young musicians, and conducts master classes throughout the world. His students continue to gather acclaim performing in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Severance Hall and National Public Radio’s From the Top as well as in summer music festivals across the globe, winning top prizes in numerous national and international competitions. Gerardo Teissonnière is an exclusive Steinway Artist and is listed in Who's Who in America, Who's Who Among America's Teachers and Who's Who in the World.
ST. PATRICKS CELEBRATION
Saturday, March 15, 2014 - 8:00 p.m.
with Broadway "Phantom" CIARAN SHEEHAN
and 14-year old pianist phenom Lewis Zou.
A program of Irish tunes played by the Cleveland POPS with Conductor Carl O'Topilow. Enjoy Cleveland Favorite Irish Tenor Ciaran Sheehan, Murphy Irish Dancers and the Cleveland Firefighters Memorial Pipes & Drums. Marvel at the 2013 co-winner of the Jean L. Petitt Memorial Music Scholarship, 14-year old pianist phenom Lewis Zou.