Classical Pianist, Karen Walwyn, successfully made her New York recital debut at Merkin Hall, in New York City, which was quickly followed by her debut performance on National Public Radio, (NPR). Her most noted performances included works from her compact discs entitled Dark Fires: 20th Century Music for Piano, Vol. I and Dark Fires: Walwyn and Friends, Vol. II ( Albany Records). In response to her recordings, articles and reviews have appeared in the Washington Post, Fanfare, American RecordGuide, Records International Catalogue, and The Detroit Free Press and as a result, Ms. Walwyn has been in high demand across the United States and in Europe. "Walwyn was fearless throughout, managing every challenge with precise fingers and heroic command of textures" (The Cleveland Plain Dealer , performance for the Musart Series at the Cleveland Museum of Art). "Walwyn is a confident and impressive pianist..." (The American Record Guide). "Karen Walwyn shows considerable range...she is virtuosic, meditative, energetic...and vividly evocative..." ( Washington Post). “Karen Walwyn not only displayed extreme sensitivity in her accompaniment role but the dexterity she displayed in her solo numbers was truly amazing.” (J.F. Gould, Artistic Director of the Sedona Chamber Music Society) “…so opens the program by trumpeter Rodney Mack and pianist Karen Walwyn on the Spirit of the Trumpeter on Albany Records . Mack’s reading is memorable, but Walwyn’s accompaniment is galvanic." (Barry Kilpatrick, American Record Guide 07-01-03) Listen to some of the works from the Dark Fires Collection at http://www.howard.edu/library/Music@Howard/Karen-Walwyn/Default.htm Dr. Walwyn has given master classes and performances on her repertoire of African American 20th Century and European 19th Century Works at the L'Auditorio and The Palau, Barcelona Spain; Casino Hall in Tenerife, Canary Islands; Salzburg College in Salzburg, Austria; Clark Atlanta University; the University of Indiana; the University of Hawaii; the University of Miami; and the University of Michigan. Dr. Walwyn has served on the faculties of the School of Music at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, and at Southwest Missouri State University, Springfield, Missouri. She has also served on the following faculties in Spain: the Badalona Conservatory, Barcelona; the Conservatorio Privada de M úsica in Tenerife, Canary Islands; the Centre d'Educacio Musical, Terrassa; and at the American Academy, Barcelona. Currently Dr. Walwyn serves on the faculty at Howard University in Washington D.C. and at the Interlochen Center for the Arts. One of Walwyn’s two new projects include her completion of her first composition entitled Reflections on 9/11, a one- hour work in six movements that depicts the events surrounding that most tragic day in recent history. The first movement entitled “ That Day” which is heard at the opening of this website. It will be released on Albany Records in upcoming months. Walwyn’s second exciting project is her release of her Classical Composers Educational Series. It is a collection of children’s learning activity workbooks and CDs on the lives and music of classical composers. The purpose of the series is to introduce classical music to children in the classrooms to help children become familiarized with this idiom of music while the positive effects of listening to classical music stimulate their academic and behavioral performance. One set of the Classical Composers Educational Series is entitled Creative Afternoons. The first of eight volumes of Creative Afternoons workbook and CD was published and produced earlier this year and has received nationwide recognition. For more information go to www.kadoroklassics.com RECENT REVIEWS of PERFORMANCES AND RECORDINGS Donald Rosenberg, The Cleveland Plain Dealer, "Scene and Heard," Tuesday, November 10, 1998. "Pianist gives eloquent voice to black composers" Mark Lehman, American Record Guide, March/April 1998. Review of : Dark Fires: 20th Century American Music, Karen Walwyn: Pianist ( Albany Records) "Walwyn is a confident and impressive pianist, and her well-recorded program (almost all first recordings, surely) is varied and interesting…. at nearly half-an- hour in length, Adolphus Hailstork's First Sonata is much the biggest and most ambitious piece here-a powerful and virtuoso four- movement work in a dense, chromatic, often dissonant but never pointillist idiom. This is a disc that I will return to with pleasure and admiration, particularly for the White, Dickerson, and Hailstork pieces." Mark Stryker, Detroit Free Press, Sunday, February 15, 1998. Review of : Dark Fires: 20th Century American Music, Karen Walwyn: Pianist ( Albany Records) "A fine collection of contemporary piano music." Peter Burwasser, Fanfare, May/June 1998. Review of : Dark Fires: 20th Century American Music, Karen Walwyn: Pianist ( Albany Records) ...this is a diverse and compelling selection of music, by any standard. All of this music is marked by distinct personal styles and passionate, anxious momentum….. Karen Walwyn, ….gets through this technically demanding program with aplomb. Her rhythmic nimbleness is especially notable. Here is a collection of composers who deserve a higher profile. Records International Catalogue, November 1997.Review of : Dark Fires: 20th Century American Music, Karen Walwyn: Pianist ( Albany Records) A diverse collection of piano music by living African American composers…. this music runs the gamut of 20th century styles and influences, from the lyrical serialism of Hale Smith to the almost English-pastoral tonality of Roger Dickerson, providing a fascinating sample of a neglected area of contemporary repertoire". Bill Faucett, The American Record Guide: The Newest Music II. Review of : Dark Fires II: Karen Walyn and Friends ( Albany Records) Pianist Karen Walwyn's Dark Fires, Vol. 2 is very much a Marsalis family affair. Walwyn is joined by her husband, trumpeter Rodney Mack, and his cousins Branford and Jason Marsalis; the program opens with a selection by the family elder, Ellis Marsalis. This recording presents the music of five black composers without the accompaniment of political statement-several exceptional works speak for themselves…. Mack's performances make me want to hear more from him, and, and Walwyn's pianism is superb. Peter Burwasser, Fanfare, September/October 2000. Review of : Dark Fires II: Karen Walyn and Friends ( Albany Records) Walwyn's playing captures the smoldering power of the music. . The program opens with a lovely ballad by patriarch Ellis Marsalis, played with warmth and affection by Walwyn. Alvin Singleton's quartet In Our Own House seems to refer as much to cultural unity as to the energy achieved when a group of fearless jazz players get together and jam. Adolphus Hailstork's Sonata for Trumpet and Piano… has a jazzy profile, but Hailstork starts with a solidly European basis, accented and characterized by syncopation, blues (in the slow movement), and virtuoso riffing, in the manner of similar Old-World/New World concoctions from Stravinsky, Marinu, and Copland, to name but three. As with Volume 1, Karen Walwyn and her friends present a fine clutch of pieces that touch on a variety of cultural influences with confidence and adroitness. Excellent recorded sound and robust performances only aid and abet the cause. HIGHLIGHTED CONCERT APPEARANCES Merkin Concert Hall the Abraham Goodman House:"Interpretations" a World Music Institute Presentation, NY, NY National Public Radio, (NPR): The 8th Annual "A King Celebration" Concert L' Auditori, Sala Polivalent Barcelona, Spain Cleveland Museum of Art: The "Musart Series" Cleveland,OH The Casino Hall, Tenerife Canary Islands, Spain Entrecasteau Chamber Festival Entrecasteau, France. Chamber Lyric Ensemble Piano Festival Orchestra Hall Detroit, MI. The Sedona Chamber Music Society Sedona, AZ. The National Chopin Foundation Concert Series Miami, FL. The Dayton Institute of Art Dayton, Ohio. The Grosse Pointe War Memorial Hall Detroit, MI. Uzes Art Gallery Uzes, France SKR Classical Ann Arbor, MI. To see an extended list, please refer to the News section. PROFESSIONAL TEACHING EXPERIENCE Assistant Professor of Music (current) Howard University, Washington D.C.
Teaching Assistant |