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Craig Ketter
Pianist

 






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American pianist Craig Ketter is rapidly distinguishing himself as a leading pianist of his generation, performing as soloist and chamber musician throughout the world.  Critically acclaimed for “transporting the listeners to extraordinary heights” and  “into a world beyond time and space,” Mr. Ketter is known for playing with powerhouse sonority combined with long-lined, dulcet lyricism.  He performs frequently in the United States, Canada, South America, and Europe as both soloist and collaborative musician. 

Most recently, Mr. Ketter brought ecstatic audiences to their feet performing Brahms' First Piano Concerto with the Sacramento Philharmonic Orchestra and proved brilliant showmanship in Rachmaninov's Third Piano Concerto with the Mobile Symphony.  In the past few seasons he has performed Prokofiev's Third Piano Concerto with the Raleigh Symphony Orchestra and has made debuts in Chicago and in the San Francisco Bay Area, performing Beethoven's Fourth Piano Concerto with the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra and Tchaikovsky's First Piano Concerto with the Oakland East Bay Symphony.  He received first prize in the Bartok-Kabalevsky-Prokofiev International Piano Competition, and his solo recitals include the Dame Myra Hess Concert Series in Chicago as well as frequently scheduled recitals in the New York area, Texas, North Carolina, Argentina, and Vancouver, Canada.

Complementing his solo performances with collaborative ventures, Mr. Ketter regularly joins forces with international singers and chamber groups.  He was featured with the Meliora Winds on National Public Radio's Performance Today series during a recent summer residency in Washington, D.C., and has toured extensively throughout Texas and Argentina with strings and winds from the American Festival for the Arts.  Other recent joint ventures include performances with the Brazos Strings at the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, and for National Concerts Association at La Huaca, Atlapa in Panama City.  He has also played with the Monte Verde String Quartet for “Music in the Mountains” in Colorado, with tenor Robert White for New Philharmonic of New Jersey, and as a guest artist at Bay Chamber Concerts in Rockport, Maine.  This season includes numerous recitals with flutist Eugenia Zukerman.
 
Mr. Ketter's extensive chamber music experience began after being awarded the Saunderson Award at the Coleman Chamber Music Competition in Los Angeles, California.  He collaborates regularly in recital with a wide spectrum of musicians, comfortable with the copious and rigorous repertoire from lieder and opera to instrumental works and concerti.  Even in collectively shared endeavors, Mr. Ketter's passionate commitment to music-making has left enthusiastic audiences reeling, as one critic wrote, from the “splendidly unified artistic experience”.  He is a member of the newly founded Aurelia Trio with violinist Kelly Hall-Tompkins and cellist Eric Bartlett.
Craig Ketter began piano studies at the age of seven, giving his first solo recital at the age of ten.  Shortly thereafter, he began to win top prizes in numerous competitions including the Young Keyboard Artists Association International Piano Competition, the North Carolina Symphony Young Artists Competition, and the Kingsville International Piano Competition.  He later won first prizes in the Richardson Awards National Piano Competition and the South Orange Symphony of New Jersey Young Artists Competition.  While still in high school, he performed concerti with the North Carolina Symphony, the Durham Symphony, the Raleigh Symphony Orchestra, the Raleigh Civic Symphony, and the Raleigh Oratorio Society.  

Craig Ketter received his Bachelor's and Master's Degrees from the Eastman School of Music under the tutelage of Nelita True and Barry Snyder, where he also taught as Mr. Snyder's assistant.  He continued post-graduate studies with Yoheved Kaplinsky of the Juilliard School. Complementing his performing with teaching, Mr. Ketter has presented master classes throughout the United States and Argentina, and has served as a guest professor and adjudicator in several institutions and venues.  He has been a faculty member of the Rocky Ridge Music Festival in Colorado, and presently serves as Head of the Piano Faculty at the American Festival for the Arts in Houston, Texas, and as a regular guest artist at the Raleigh Conservatory of Music.  Mr. Ketter currently resides in New York City with his wife, Canadian soprano Valerie Gonzalez, and his two sons, Isaac and Daniel.

 7/14/11