Piano Series

The 2009-2010 Piano Series will open with a recital by guests artist Michael Rickman on Saturday, October 24 at 7:30pm in the Music Recital Hall. Dr. Rickman, a native of Asheville, North Carolina, was privileged to have been a pupil of the late Grace Potter Carroll, herself a pupil of both Ferrucio Busoni and Theodore Leschetitzky. He holds degrees and the performer’s certificate from Mars Hill College and the University of North Texas where he was a pupil of Richard Cass and Jack Roberts. He studied further with Karen Shaw of Indiana University. Dr. Rickman received top honors in the Theodore Leschetitzky International Competition, Carnegie Hall, New York. For two seasons he was resident pianist with the Petit Jean Music Festival, providing the opportunity to work with pianist Dalton Baldwin. He has appeared in concert with both the Audubon and Mendelssohn String Quartets. Dr. Rickman has two compact discs available on the Lakeside Records label, Romantic Realms, with works of Schubert and Brahms, and Romantic Realms II, with works of Robert Schumann. He has served on the faculty of the School of Music of Stetson University since 1984.

The series will continue with a recital by faculty artist Richard Cionco on Saturday, November 21 at 7:30pm in the Music Recital Hall. Mr. Cionco was a Teaching Fellow and Assistant to David Dubal at The Juilliard School for four years, and he joined the piano faculty at California State University, Sacramento in 1993. He also teaches and performs at the Schlern International Music Festival in northern Italy each summer. Recently, Mr. Cionco was awarded the Outstanding University Service Award for 2007 at Sacramento State, and was featured in the University Bulletin. In June of 2008, Professor Cionco was honored in Washington, D.C. with the "2008 Teacher Recognition Award" from the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program. In 2009, Mr. Cionco judged the 61st Hong Kong Schools Music Festival where 2,000 pianists performed for him in three weeks. As recitalist, he has been a guest artist of the Washington Chamber Society, and at the American Liszt Society Festival, as well as at numerous universities, including New York University, San Francisco State University, and Memphis State University. A recipient of a Solo Recitalists Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts and a career grant from the Bagby Foundation for the Musical Arts in New York City, he is also winner of many competitions.

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