Classical Encounters Foundation presents The Montréal-based Schumann Duo Pianists Elizabeth and Sonya Schumann

Schumann Duo

Elizabeth and Sonya Schumann have recently toured with their concert innovation Piano Theater throughout the United States, Canada, and Australia. Piano Theater comprises a piano recital interwoven with narrative to provide audiences an accessible window into the world of classical music. Read about Piano Theater, where you will find video excerpts, by clicking:
http://www.elizabethschumann.com/duo/
 
The Schumann Sisters have raised funds and just completed two high-quality CDs and an e-book for elementary-school-aged children to introduce them to classical music. The CDs will be distributed free to educators in areas where arts funding has been eliminated. Watch a brief video on this vitally important project "Let's Save The Arts!" by clicking: 
http://kck.st/dEGxes
 
Elizabeth Schumann performs internationally as a recitalist, chamber musician, and concerto soloist. The Washington Post Magazine noted her playing as "deft, relentless, and devastatingly good - the sort of performance you experience not so much with your ears as your solar plexus."
 
The first-prize winner of the Bösendorfer International Piano Competition and the Pacific International Piano Competition, Elizabeth also won prizes in numerous other major competitions, including the Cleveland International Piano Competition and the Hilton Head International Piano Competition. As a result of receiving a prestigious Irving S. Gilmore Award, she was a featured artist in the PBS documentary about the Gilmore. Elizabeth has given the world premieres by esteemed composers such as Carl Vine (Piano Sonata No.3 in Zipper Hall in May 2007), Hugues Leclair, and Mark Landson. Read about Elizabeth, where you will find video excerpts, by clicking: 
http://www.elizabethschumann.com/
 
Sonya Schumann made her orchestral debut with the Williamsburg Symphonia League at thirteen, performing as the Young Soloist Competition winner. She has competed and won several competitions, including the Bartok-Kabelevsky-Prokofiev Competition, Williamsburg Symphony Concerto Competition, South Carolina Music Teachers Association Competition, and Southeastern Piano Festival. In 2005, Sonya performed Rachmaninoff's Second Piano Concerto with the South Carolina Philharmonic. 

Sonya participated in the Southeastern Piano Festival, Indiana University Piano Academy, Ameropa Chamber Music Festival at Prague Conservatory, and the Burgos Music Festival in Spain. At the Southeastern Piano Festival in 2009, her solo guest performance was described as "captivating, dramatic, and heartfelt." Sonya has a Bachelor in Music from the University of South Carolina and currently studies at the University of Michigan. Also nationally recognized for prose and poetry interpretation and performance, Sonya recently competed and placed at the national level in poetry. 

The Program

Saint Saëns: Carnival of the Animals for one piano - four hands
Poetry by Christopher Steger
 
Richard Strauss: Enoch Arden for piano and narrator
Poetry by Alfred Lord Tennyson
 
Witold Lutoslawski: Variations on a Theme of Paganini for two pianos