The Pasadena City College piano department will host acclaimed pianist Boris Slutsky for a series of events open to students, faculty, and the general public.
Slutsky comes to Pasadena as part of the Pamela L. Girard Guest Artist and Master Class Series, which annually brings world-class musicians to campus for master classes, performances, and intimate interactions with students.
“The musical world is bigger than any single institution, and we’re trying to give students a much bigger picture,” said Phillip Young, chair of PCC’s piano department. “A teacher can persistently encourage students to perfect details in their performance, but if they hear the same messages from a outside voice with a different perspective, it has a totally fresh impact.”
Slutsky, who serves as chair of the piano department of the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, first rose to distinction as a performer in 1981, when he captured the First Prize — as well as every other major prize — at the William Kapell International Piano Competition. Since then he has appeared as a soloist and recitalist on nearly every continent, performing in such venues as Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Bunka Kaikan in Tokyo, the National Concert Hall in Taipei, the Performing Arts Center in Seoul, and Teatro Colon in Bogota.
During his four-day stay at PCC, Slutsky will host three master classes and a question-and-answer session with students, all of which are open to the public. His stay culminates in a full recital at Westerbeck Recital Hall on Saturday, March 19, at 7 p.m.
“This is a chance for our campus to not only hear great musicians, but to get close to them and talk to them,” Young said. “That influence is what changes people and creates artists.”
For a full schedule of Slutsky’s residency, visit www.pccpiano.com/2016-boris-slutsky.
