The Department of Music at SUNY New Paltz presents a concert by pianist Blair McMillen on Tuesday, Feb. 9 at 8:00 p.m. in McKenna Theatre. The evening’s program will include works by Alexander Scriabin, Joan Tower and Department of Music faculty member Nkeiru Okoye.
A Bard Conservatory faculty artist, McMillen has established himself as one of the most versatile and sought-after pianists performing today, one described by the New York Times as “riveting,” “prodigiously accomplished and exciting,” and one of the piano’s “brilliant stars.”
Working as pianist, chamber musician, conductor and improviser, he thrives in a wide variety of musical styles: from medieval keyboard manuscripts to improvisation-based music; from Classical/Romantic-era piano repertoire to the music of young 21st-century composers. Known for imaginative and daring programming, McMillen has premiered hundreds of new works both as a soloist and with ensembles. He regularly collaborates with composers and artists of other genres in commissioning works that stretch the boundaries of the piano and the traditional recital format.
McMillen is pianist for the Naumburg Award-winning Da Capo Chamber Players, the American Modern Ensemble and the six-piano Grand Band, among others. He is the co-founder and co-director of the Rite of Summer Music Festival, an alt-classical outdoor concert series held on New York City’s Governors Island.
McMillen has given performances at major venues both traditional and avant-garde, from Carnegie Hall, the Moscow Conservatory, Lincoln Center, Caramoor, Miller Theatre and the Library of Congress to (le) Poisson Rouge, Galapagos and the Knitting Factory. Highlights from recent seasons include the Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 1 at the Bard Music Festival, the Walter Piston Concertino for Piano in Carnegie Hall and numerous appearances with the New York Philharmonic, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and Albany Symphony.
McMillen holds degrees from Oberlin College, the Juilliard School and the Manhattan School of Music. He lives in New York City and has served on the music faculty at Bard College and Conservatory since 2005. Visit http://arielartists.com/artists/blair-mcmillen/ for more information.
Tickets for McMillen’s performance are $10 general admission, $6 seniors (62+) and New Paltz faculty/staff, and $3 for students. Tickets are available at the door one hour prior to the concert. For additional information, visit www.newpaltz.edu/music or call (845) 257-2700.
