Steinway Piano Series

All Steinway Piano Series concerts are held on Sunday afternoons at 3pm in Kresge Theatre on the CMU Campus, Pittsburgh, PA.

Henry Wong Doe


October 14, 2012

  

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Jon Nakamatsu

November 11, 2012

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Duo 
Pianists
Tina Faigen 
& 
Becky Billock

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Awadagin Pratt

March 24, 2012

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Duo Pianists Tina Faigen & Becky Billock

February 10, 2013

Program:
Works by Rachmaninoff, Schultz and more



Poetry selections will be read by special guest Jennifer Tober

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Tina Faigen

Tina Faigen, American pianist, earned her Bachelor of Music degree from the prestigious Oberlin College Conservatory of Music, and her Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from University of
Miami under the tutelage of renowned pianist Ivan Davis. Faigen’s career as a pianist has encompassed a broad range of performance engagements. In addition to recording, she appears in solo recitals, chamber
music concerts, is a member of the piano duo Faigen & Billock, and performs as guest soloist with orchestras. A recipient of many prizes and awards, she has appeared on the distinguished Pittsburgh “Y” Recital Series, is a 1989 winner of the Pittsburgh Concert Society Majors, and has been engaged as guest
pianist with numerous orchestras in the U.S. and Italy, including the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra at the
age of 13.

Among her musical achievements, Faigen was awarded a debut tour of Italy as concerto soloist with the
Orchestra Sinfonica Abruzzeze. She has appeared in over 30 performances of Tchaikovsky’s 3rd Piano
Concerto with Edward Villella’s Miami City Ballet. The Miami Herald writes, “Tina Faigen played so brilliantly that it was difficult at times to concentrate on the dancing.” Music critics have described her
as “commanding a rich palette of pianistic colors and fingers of awesome dexterity,” and as having “a
compelling combination of solid technique and distinctive interpretation, full of color and nuance, with her virtuosity the servant of the music. A stunning performer who plays with assurance, fluidity and power.”

Faigen’s compact disc recordings of Robert Schultz’s works “Visions of Dunbar” and “Tina Faigen Plays Piano Transcriptions” have received rave reviews. “Faigen plays Schultz’s works superlatively,
effortlessly clarifying their rippling complexities and performing with supple dexterity, a clear, resonant tone and sensitive touch.” Faigen is co-author of the acclaimed Accelerando Piano Technique Series, along with numerous other editions of educational piano music. Since 1992 she has been the principal editor for The Robert Schultz Piano Library. She has maintained an active teaching studio since the age of 14, and is
currently a senior piano faculty member of the Music Preparatory School at Carnegie Mellon University.

Becky Billock

Hailed as a "persuasive and capable" musician (BBC Music Magazine) and an "unforgettable listening experience" (The Whole Note), recording artist and recitalist Becky Billock has found her niche promoting the works of contemporary women.  She has appeared as soloist with regional orchestras in Oregon and California and has performed solo and chamber recitals in numerous locations throughout the U.S., including frequent tours of Northwest cities, and appearances on the Seattle radio station Classical KING FM 98.1, the Pittsburgh radio station WQED 98.3FM, and American Public Media’s Performance Today.  Ms. Billock concertizes, lectures and adjudicates frequently in western Pennsylvania where she lives with her husband Jonathan Aldrich and her two young daughters. She holds degrees from Walla Walla College (BA), University of Redlands (MA), and University of Washington (DMA), where she studied respectively with Leonard Richter, Louanne Long, and Craig Sheppard. 

Ms. Billock's recent CD release musesnine: eight american composers plus one pianist has received extensive airplay throughout the US and Canada, and garnered accolades from some of the top music publications. Musesnine was also featured as "CD of the week" both on Pittsburgh's WQED  and KDFC San Francisco, and Ms. Billock was featured in a live performance broadcast promoting the CD on WQLN FM in Erie, PA.  

Recent performance highlights include Ms. Billock's collaboration with Pittsburgh Symphony cellist Adam Liu in the premiere of a work by Chinese composer Changyuan Liu. She also collaborated with other luminaries of the Pittsburgh classical music scene in a concert showcasing the works of American composer Robert Schultz. Ms. Billock has extensively performed her program entitled Women Working, including a presentation both at the 2010 International Festival of Women Composers and at the 2011 Congress for the International Alliance of Women in Music. As a winner of the Pittsburgh Concert Society Majors Auditions in 2010, Ms. Billock performed on that organization’s concert series, as well as at the 2011 Johnstown Chamber Music Festival.  She performed a series of concerts in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe in the Fall of 2012, and plans to return to Africa in Fall 2013, performing with the Trio Nova Mundi.

Ms. Billock maintains a thriving private studio in Pittsburgh, PA and also serves on the piano faculty at West Liberty University.