Pianist Anastasia Antonacos has quite a resume. A solo and group performer, a teacher, and an advocate for the arts, Antonacos is a musician in the finest sense of the word.
Antonacos returns to Maine and will perform at a Bowdoin Tea Time Concert, having already performed around the world.
Originally from Saco, Maine, Antonacos has participated in the Bowdoin Music Festival and has taught at the college. She is currently a professor at the University of Maine.
She spends a lot of time in an instructional capacity outside of the classroom as well, having a position as a chamber music coach at Bay Chamber Concerts Next Generation Program for many years as well as serving as a judge at competitions.
Antonacos has also performed in many places outside the United States. She has performed in Greece, Russia, France, and Belgium, and competed in Bulgaria and Mallorca. In Bulgaria, she won first place at the International Young Artist Music Competition and in Mallorca, she won prizes at the Capderera International Piano Competition.
In America, Antonacos was the three-time winner of the Bay Chamber Concerts competition. Her outstanding talent granted her the chance to participate in the Wilhelm Kempff Beethoven Course and study Beethoven under John O'Connor in Positano, Italy. She was one of eight pianists chosen.
With her masters and doctoral degrees in piano performance from Indiana University, Antonacos has had many occasions to perform. She has performed as a soloist with the Portland Symphony Orchestra as well as the Bangor Symphony Orchestra and has had the opportunity to work with members of the Vermeer and Cassatt Quartets. She has also collaborated with celebrated pianists like Leonard Hokanson and Edmund Battersby.
Antonacos has worked to further music performance and education. She is one of the founding members of the Bayside Trio and Harlequine and a public speaker for the funding of the National Endowment of the Arts in Washington D.C.
Although a classical performer, her musical interests extend beyond that particular realm. She listens to Bjork, Radiohead, and U2. She also enjoys listening to ragtime, jazz, and, curiously enough, gypsy music. However, she has always been particularly drawn to the later Beethoven Quartets, according to a recent interview with the Phoenix.
Antonacos recently returned to Maine because of the "artistic environment" in Portland, according to the same interview. At Friday's Tea Time Concert in Studzinski Recital Hall, Antonacos will be playing a number of pieces from different composers. Among the most recognizable are four Schubert Impromptus and the Allegro (Op. 8) by Schumann. The program will also include four pieces by Finnish composer Rautavaara?who is still alive and turns 80 this year?and two Liszt transcriptions of Rossini songs.