October 29, 2011
Our first concert of the season features the brilliant 17-year-old pianist Priscila Navarro from Lima, Peru. Ms. Navarro is considered one of the most outstanding pianists of her generation. An active performer, she currently studies with Dr. Michael Baron at the Bower School of Music at Florida Gulf Coast University under full scholarship. She is the first prize winner of many competitions including, this last August, the prestigious International Chopin Competition of South America. We hope you and your students will come hear this young pianist’s stunning virtuosity and heart rendering lyrical gifts. Ms Navarro will be joined for a set of duets by her teacher and RMMA’s Artistic Director, Dr Michael Baron. We hope you will come hear this young pianist’s stunning virtuosity and heart rendering lyrical gifts.
Priscila Navarro
Priscila Navarro is currently a 17-year-old Sophomore Piano Performance Major studying with Dr. Michael Baron at the Bower School of Music at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, Florida. At FGCU she receives the Steinway Society and Williams scholarships.
Priscila Navarro started her piano studies at the age of 9, at the National Conservatory of Music of Peru, under the guidance of Professor Lydia Hung. She received the academic excellence award there for 6 years, and the first place in her level of studies. She was selected by audition to perform with the National Symphony Orchestra of Peru, from 2006 to 2009. In 2007 she won the National Concerto Competition in Lima, Peru. She attended the “International Institute for Young Musicians”, Kansas, in 2008. In 2009 she was awarded the Maddy Summer Artist Award, for being one of the best 15 soloists out of 700, at the Interlochen Summer Arts Camp, Michigan. She won the Kiwanis Music Festival of Greater Toronto, in the Concerto class, and was awarded a special scholarship.
Priscila is currently the winner of the Music Teachers National Association Piano Competitions for both solo and piano duets for the State of Florida and the winner of the Regional Competitions after competing against the winners of nine states. She is also the current winner of the Florida Music Teachers Association Gray Perry and Byrd Piano Competitions which honors the finest undergraduate and finest two-piano ensemble in the state of Florida respectively.
This past summer Priscila was awarded a full scholarship to study at the prestigious Tanglewood Music Festival in Massachusetts. She also performed as concerto soloist with the National Orchestra of Peru. Her latest international honor is as winner of the South American Chopin Competition in which she completed against all eligible pianists up to the age of 30 in South America. As part of her prize she will be studying for two weeks at the Warsaw Conservatory in Poland and in August of 2011 she is touring with the National Orchestra of Peru in a Chopin Concerto.
Dr. Michael Baron
An award-winning concert pianist, Michael Baron performs over 40 concerts each year, including annual tours of Europe and engagements throughout the United States, Asia, and South America. Equally at home as a recitalist, a soloist with orchestra, and a chamber musician, Baron commands a diverse repertoire, ranging from Baroque compositions to world premieres of contemporary pieces. His virtuosity and musicianship regularly garner the highest critical acclaim. Il Tempo (Rome) praised his “spellbinding recital. Baron kept the audience enthralled with a combination of touching poetry and superhuman virtuosity.” Baron received his doctorate in Piano Performance from The Ohio State University where he studied with the legendary American pianist Earl Wild. He also worked extensively in Italy with the renowned pianist Orazio Frugoni.
Dr. Baron serves as Professor of Music and Head of Keyboard Studies at the Bower School of Music at Florida Gulf Coast University in Ft. Myers, Florida. He is also Honorary Professor of Music at Yantai University and Hubei University in the People’s Republic of China. A distinguished educator, Baron has presented masterclasses and workshops at schools, festivals, and universities throughout the world. He regularly serves as a jurist on regional, national, and international piano competitions.
An acclaimed master teacher, Dr. Baron’s students regularly win competitions throughout the United States and abroad. He is a popular teacher and presenter for teacher groups. Baron is the Director of Corsi Internazionali di Musica summer music festival in Perugia, Italy and is Artistic Director of the Rocky Mountain Music Alliance in Colorado Springs. Recent performances have taken him to Peru, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, South Korea, and Serbia, as well as U.S. performances.