LSUS to host Piatigorsky Foundation concert Sept. 26
09/14/06

Another in the ongoing series of mini-concerts put on by the Piatigorsky Foundation at LSUS will be presented at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 26, in the LSUS University Center Theater. The concert, which is free and open to the public, will feature soprano Dana Vachharajani (formerly Dana Bhatnagar) and pianist Jeffrey Grossman.

For more than 15 years, the Piatigorsky Foundation’s commitment to artistic excellence and public outreach has fascinated many avid concert goers as well as curious first-timers. It is this combination of complimentary access, flamboyant performances and human warmth that makes Piatigorsky Foundation concerts so appealing to diverse audiences. LSUS has become a favorite Piatigorsky Foundation concert venue. Cellist Evan Drachman, founder of the Piatigorsky Foundation and grandson of renowned cellist Gregor Piatigorsky, performed in the LSUS theater in February and complemented an enthusiastic audience for its knowledge of and appreciation for good music.

Vachharajani is delighted to be singing her sixth season with The Piatigorsky Foundation. Hailing from her hometown of Brookville, Penn., she received a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from Carnegie Mellon University. While in college, she was a soloist with the Carnegie Mellon Concert Choir. She graduated from The Juilliard School in 2001 with a master’s degree in vocal performance. Before graduating from Juilliard, she presented The Mirabai Songs by John Harbison in Alice Tully Hall as a recipient of The Juilliard School’s Vocal Honors Recital.

From 2001-2004, Vachharajani had the honor of performing as one of the soloists in the series with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, “Cantatas in Context,” in New York City. In December of 2005, she performed the solos of Handel’s The Messiah and Bach’s Magnificat with the Boulder ( Colo.) Philharmonic and the Boulder Chorale as the winner of their young artist competition.

Now living in Colorado, she has a successful voice studio as well as her own Children’s Choir, The Flatiron Youth Chorale. She is also a proud faculty member of Boulder Country Day School. She will perform with her mentor, Evan Drachman, and fellow Piatigorsky colleague Richard Dowling in an upcoming recital at the Baltimore Museum of Art’s Auditorium.

Consistently praised for his impressive and wide-ranging musicality in nearly every style, Grossman’s extensive experience as an accompanist includes repertoire for the piano, harpsichord and organ from every period of the classical repertoire. A native of Detroit, he holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in music from Harvard College, where he sang with the Collegium Musicum, the Glee Club and conducted the Chamber Singers. He also co-founded and currently serves as artistic director of the Cambridge Early Music Project, an organization which has presented numerous concerts in the Boston area. Recent performances as a conductor cover diverse ground — from Marvin Hamlisch’s A Chorus Line, to Benjamin Britten’s Albert Herring, to an all-baroque concert of music by Bach and Schütz. recently completed a Master of Music degree in conducting at Carnegie Mellon University, where he studied with Grammy-award winning conductor Robert Page. Last summer, he served as maestro collaboratore for a production of Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro with the Opera Theatre and Music Festival of Lucca, Italy, and as a staff pianist and teaching assistant with the University of Miami Frost School of Music at Salzburg, Austria. He currently resides in New York City.

For information about the Piatigorsky Foundation performance at LSUS, contact Dr. La Wanda Blakeney, assistant professor of music, at 318-797-5051 or LBlakeney@LSUS.edu.