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Pianist Dan Velicer to present masterclass at UCM

Feb 11, 2009 Keyboard
Posted by music

Pianist Dan Velicer will conduct a master class at UCM on Thursday, February 19 from 1-3pm in the Hart Recital Hall.  Mr. Velicer will speak about his experiences as a professional collaborative pianist and take questions from the audience. He will also work with four UCM music duos:  Amanda Arrington (piano) and Heather Wheeler (mezzo soprano); Elaina Toben (piano) and Candice Tuttle (soprano); Seth Bowling (piano) and Kasey Wasson (cello); Sarah Blunk (piano) and Marguerite Rodriguez (trumpet). Admission is free and the public is invited to attend.  For more information, contact Dr. Mia Hynes at 543-8900 or hynes@ucmo.edu

About Dan Velicer

A prolific performer and teacher, Dan Velicer appears regularly with the Kansas City Symphony, Trio Fedele, the Lyric Arts Trio, and the outreach program of the Kansas City Ballet while also in constant demand as a collaborative pianist and vocal coach.

Mr. Velicer has performed in recital with Joshua Bell and Richard Stoltzman, tuba phenomenon Pat Sheridan and with Yo-Yo Ma in a chamber work commissioned by the Silk Road Project. He has also had the privilege to work with singers Fredrica von Stade, Joyce DiDonato, Denyce Graves, Marietta Simpson, and, of Broadway and West Wing fame, Kristin Chenoweth. Mr. Velicer has accepted invitations to perform on concerts celebrating Lou Harrison’s 80th birthday and Ross Lee Finney’s compositional career and to perform the major role of onstage pianist in the classic Jerome Robbins’ comedy ballet The Concert. For the nationally acclaimed Stravinsky Festival, he helped prepare vocal soloists from the participating institutions, which included the Kansas City Symphony, the Kansas City Ballet and the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Within the academic year, Mr. Velicer performs with the Kansas City Symphony on classical, pops, and family series concerts, has been a featured soloist on numerous occasions, and often collaborates with symphony members in recitals throughout the metropolitan area. Additionally, he performs with faculty members from local universities and helps prepare students of voice and all instruments at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music for recitals and other significant performances. He frequently accompanies prizewinners in local, regional, and national competitions, and was recently an Official Pianist for the 2008 National Flute Association Convention and an MTNA National Finals round.

During the summer, Mr. Velicer is pleased to serve as chamber music coach and artist performer on the faculty of the Rocky Mountain Summer Conservatory, located in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Previous summer appearances include Steamboat Strings in the Mountains and the music festivals at Sarasota, Aspen and Sandpoint. While at Sandpoint he was a member of the contemporary chamber ensemble under the direction of noted composer and educator Gunther Schuller. A fan of new compositions, he regularly performs them on collaborative recitals and has performed with the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble and Kansas City’s NewEar ensemble. Also, the Lyric Arts Trio and Trio Fedele regularly commission new works for public performance.

Prior to arriving in Kansas City, Mr. Velicer was an Opera Coach Fellow at the Aspen Opera Theater Center and head staff pianist at the University of the Pacific Conservatory of Music. He is a graduate of Cornell University, double majoring in anthropology and music, and Rice University, where he received a master’s degree in piano chamber music and accompanying. His principal teachers were Brian Connelly, Jonathan Shames, and Deborah Moriarty. Mr. Velicer lives in Overland Park, Kansas with his wife Kristi, who is a violinist with the Kansas City Symphony, and their two young children.