Purdue News

October 15, 1999 Superstar pianist returns to Purdue WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Pianist Awadagin Pratt will return to Purdue University to perform in solo recital at 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 4, at Loeb Playhouse in Stewart Center. Pratt last performed at the West Lafayette campus in 1995. The evening's program will feature four selections from J.S. Bach's "The Art of the Fugue," the Beethoven Sonata in A-flat Major, and the Liszt Sonata in B minor, considered a masterpiece of 19th century piano literature. Something of a child prodigy, Pratt was born in Pittsburgh, Pa., where he began studying piano at age 6. After moving to Normal, Ill., at age 9, he also began studying violin. At the age of 16, he entered the University of Illinois, where he studied piano, violin and conducting. He subsequently enrolled in Baltimore's Peabody Conservatory of Music, where he became the first student in the school's history to receive diplomas in three performance areas. In 1992, Pratt won the prestigious Naumburg International Piano Competition and two years later was awarded a 1994 Avery Fisher Career Grant. In the past five years, the young pianist has performed with major orchestras all over the world, and this season he will premiere a concerto by contemporary composer Theodore Shapiro with the Seattle Symphony. Pratt's youth, dreadlocks and unusual performing style drew a great deal of media attention early on, and he continues to attract interest in the press and with the public. He has been featured in Newsweek, People Magazine, USA Weekend, New York Newsday, Emerge and Mirabella as well as on National Public Radio's "Performance Today" and "Weekend Edition." Ebony magazine, in its 50th anniversary issue, named him one of the "50 Leaders of Tomorrow." Tickets to the Nov. 4 recital are $20 for the public and $13 for Purdue students. Discounts are available to groups of 15 or more. Charge by phone at (765) 494-3933 or (800) 914-SHOW. The event is presented by Purdue Convocations as a part of its Loeb Music Collection. CONTACT: Sue Stevens, Convocations publicist, (765) 494-5045, snsteven@purdue.edu To the Purdue News and Photos Page