Music Institute Presents Menahem Pressler Master Classes; February 17 and 18 Sessions Open to Public

The Music Institute of Chicago offers its students the opportunity to participate in—and the public the opportunity to observe—master classes with esteemed musician Menahem Pressler February 17 and 18 at Nichols Concert Hall, 1490 Chicago Avenue, Evanston.

The February 17 program features solo pianists and chamber musicians who are students at the Music Institute’s prestigious Academy for gifted pre-college musicians: 

• Pianist Kate Liu, Susan and Richard Kiphart Academy Fellow: Chopin’s Polonaise-Fantaisie in A-flat Major, Op. 61
• Trio Fantastico—violinist Zachary Brandon, cellist Annamarie Wellems, pianist Kyle Jannak-Huang: Beethoven’s Piano Trio in D Major, Op. 70, No. 1 “Ghost”
• Giocoso Trio—violinist Serena Harnack, cellist Nathan Mo, pianist Andrew Guo: Beethoven’s Piano Trio in E-flat Major, Op. 1, No. 1 (Presto)

The February 18 program features solo pianists and chamber musicians who study in the Music Institute’s Community School; auditions will take place later in January.

About Menahem Pressler

Menahem Pressler, founding member and pianist of the Beaux Arts Trio (described by the Washington Post as “the gold standard for trios throughout the world”), has established himself among the world’s most distinguished and honored musicians, with a career that spans more than five decades. Now in his 87th year, he continues to captivate audiences throughout the world as performer and pedagogue, performing solo and chamber music recitals to great critical acclaim while maintaining a dedicated and robust teaching career. For nearly 60 years, Pressler has taught on the piano faculty at the world-renowned Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he currently is Distinguished Professor of Music as the Charles Webb Chair.

About the Music Institute of Chicago

The Music Institute of Chicago believes that music has the power to sustain and nourish the human spirit; therefore, its mission is to provide the foundation for lifelong engagement with music. The Music Institute offers lessons, classes, and programs through four distinct areas: the Community School, Academy, Creative Arts Therapy (Institute for Therapy through the Arts), and Nichols Concert Hall, an education and performance center in downtown Evanston that reaches approximately 14,000 people each year.

Community Music School

As one of the three largest and most respected community music schools in the nation, the Music Institute offers musical excellence built on the strength of its distinguished faculty, commitment to quality, and breadth of programs and services. Founded in 1931 and one of the oldest community music schools in Illinois, the Music Institute is a member of the National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts and accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music. Each year, the Music Institute’s world-class music teachers and arts therapists provide the highest quality arts education to more than 5,000 students of all ability levels, from birth to 101 years of age. With nearly 50 piano faculty serving more than 750 piano students, the Music Institute’s piano department is its largest. The school also has a thriving chamber music program with more than 40 chamber groups that rehearse weekly with Music Institute coaches.

The Music Institute of Chicago includes campuses in Evanston, Highland Park, Lake Forest, Lincolnshire, Winnetka, and Downers Grove. The Music Institute also offers lessons at the Steinway of Chicago store in Northbrook and early childhood Musikgarten® classes and community engagement programs throughout the Chicago area and the North Shore. The Music Institute’s community engagement and partnership programs reach an additional 6,500 Chicago Public School students annually. 

About the Academy

Founded in 2006, the Music Institute of Chicago Academy has established itself as one of the most respected pre-collegiate conservatory programs in the United States. The Academy’s internationally recognized faculty, rigorous curriculum, and instructional model, as well as the program’s highly gifted students, have solidified its preeminent reputation. Students in this prestigious program have come from throughout the United States, as well as from Central and South America, Europe, Japan, China, and Korea. The very selective program focuses on providing an intensive and comprehensive musical education and significant performance opportunities for developing musicians. The carefully assembled faculty represents teachers and performers with a passion for developing young talent and an established reputation for student achievement.

Approximately 50 young musicians participate in all aspects of the curriculum, including private lessons with Academy artist faculty, a rigorous chamber music component, a stimulating chamber orchestra, and accelerated music theory classes. Pianists additionally study keyboard literature and skills in an intimate group setting. A hallmark of the Academy is the weekly master classes with some of the world’s most celebrated artists and educators. The Academy introduces students to a vast music community of peer musicians, pedagogical styles, and the rigors of conservatory training. The nation’s most elite college and university music conservatories, including The Juilliard School, the Curtis Institute of Music, the Eastman School of Music, and the New England Conservatory, actively pursue graduates of the four-year program.

The master classes with Menahem Pressler take place Friday, February 17, 7–9:30 p.m. and Saturday, February 18, 10 a.m.–12:30 p.m. at Nichols Concert Hall, 1490 Chicago Avenue, Evanston. General admission is $10 at the door. For information, visit musicinst.org.

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