The Piano and Its Perspectives
Once a month the MSU Department of Music presents The Piano and Its Perspectives. A partnership with EMAC/Federal University of Goiás in Brazil and the digital/ITS office, the Portugal Science & Technology Foundation, Center for the Study in Sociology & Music Aesthetics, Portugal New University, in Portugal and colleagues: Andréa Luísa Teixeira (coordinator), Maria Caroline Porto, Sérgio de Paiva e Pablo Lisboa.
This Friday, September 9, at 3:00 pm in Mississippi, 4:00 pm NYC, 5:00 pm in Brazil, and 9:00 pm in Portugal. The interview is with Dr. Oliver Salonga, Piano Professor at Soochow University Conservatory of Music and at FaceArt Institute of Music in China. You can watch the live interview at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBdBBeSxpVI
Biography:
Praised for his emotional energy and technical finesse, Oliver Salonga has performed in the concert halls of the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, Italy, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Philippines, Australia, and China.
He collaborated with prominent musicians, such as conductors Albert Georg Schram, George Ellis, Arturo Molina, and Ruggiero Barbieri. He also appeared at music festivals like Neuberg an der Donau Music Festival in Germany, Athenaeum Piano Festival in Italy, JFJC Music Institute Festival in Philippines, EuroArts Academy Winter Festival in Korea and FAIM Summer Festival in China. His performances were radio broadcasted and live streamed at WLHH 104.9, WXEL 90.7, DZFE 98.7 and Dulwich College, UK. Recently, with Korean pianist, Dr. Heeseung Lee, they formed a piano duo ensemble, “Duo Bravura”, to promote two-piano works of 21st century composers.
Salonga is the gold Medal winner of the 2008 Jeonju International Piano Competition in South Korea. He has also won the Zellen Piano Prize at the Cleveland Institute of Music. He has gained accolades from Hilton Head International Piano Competition, Florida International Piano Competition, and Scottish International Piano Competition.
Oliver Salonga received his Artist Diploma and Master of Music in Piano Performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music. He also received his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano Performance with minors in Theory and Analysis, Arts Management, and Collaborative Arts from the University of Southern California where he held the Sylvia Grancell Award for his entire doctoral residency. Oliver has received guidance from outstanding pianists, such as Antonio Pompa-Baldi, Sergei Babayan, Daniel Pollack, Jerome Lowenthal, Robert McDonald, Alexei Kornienko, Norman Krieger, and Angela Cholakian.
He is holding teaching positions in piano at Soochow University Conservatory of Music and at FaceArt Institute of Music in China. His students have won first prizes in New York International Music Competition, Paris and London Grand Prize, China International Franz Liszt Competition, Singapore International Youth Competition and Hong Kong International Competition. His students have been admitted to some of the finest musical institutions such as the Juilliard School of Music and Interlochen Arts Academy in the United States. Dr. Oliver Salonga embraces the Russian School of Piano Performance Tradition.
Oliver Salonga regularly holds masterclasses in Asia, among them at China’s Ernst Piano Foundation Masterclasses Series, Korea’s EuroArts Academy Winter Festival, Thailand’s Princess Galyani Vadhana Institute of Music and Yamaha Music Academy, Singapore’s Yong Siew Toh Consevatory of Music, UAE’s Dubai Piano Institute and British School AbuDhabi, Philippines’ University of the Philippines, University of Sto. Tomas, Philippine High School for the Arts and Cultural Center of the Philippines. He has also given lectures and teaching workshops about “Shaping Artistic Individuality and Creating Sound World” and Making of Virtuoso: “Knowing about your Hands.”
