Jeri Mae Astolfi
Guest pianist Jeri-Mae G. Astolfi will present a free concert titled “Here (and There): Music for Piano and Electronics” at 8 p.m. Friday, April 11, in the NIU Music Building Recital Hall.
The program will feature works by composers Jeff Herriott, Tom Lopez, Phillip Schroeder, Brian Belet, Jim Fox and Ed Martin. Lopez and Martin, who will attend the evening concert, will join Astolfi for a preview and discussion from 3 to 3:50 p.m. in the Recital Hall.
These events are made possible through the generous support of the NIU College of Visual and Performing Arts and the Harry Castle fund.
Astolfi is a Canadian-born pianist whose playing has been lauded as “brilliant” (New Music Connoisseur), “persuasive” (Sequenza21) and “beautiful” (American Record Guide). Her repertoire, ranging from the Renaissance era through the present, clearly affirms her keen interest in new music, which has led her to commission and premiere many new solo and collaborative works – music that has been featured on live radio broadcasts and released by Albany Records, innova recordings and Ravello Records’ Capstone Collection (including multiple CDs for the Performers’ Recording Series of the Society of Composers, Inc.).
She is the soloist for the Wisconsin Soundscapes commissioning and touring project (sponsored by the Wisconsin Alliance for Composers and the Wisconsin Arts Board) and a founding member, with Holly Roadfeldt, of the duoARtia piano duo.
Her tireless devotion to the dissemination of new music has been recognized by numerous awards, grants, and invitations to regional, national, and international music forums, where she has premiered and lectured on new piano music.
For more information, call (815) 753-0642 or email rfleisher@niu.edu.