FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuscaloosa, AL – The University of Alabama College of Arts & Sciences School of Music presents a faculty recital featuring Carlton McCreery, violoncello, on Monday, March 1, 2010 at 7:30 p.m. in the Concert Hall of the Moody Music Building on the campus of The University of Alabama. The program will include “Sonata No.2 in F Major, Opus 99” by Johannes Brahms and “Sonata in G Minor, Opus 19” by Sergei Rachmaninoff. He will be accompanied on piano by Dr. Sarkis Baltaian, the Assistant Professor of Music (Piano) at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. The pair will also be performing the program on Tuesday, March 2, 2010 at 7:30 p.m. in the UAH Recital Hall. The concert is FREE and open to the public. For more information visit: www.music.ua.edu/calendar or call 348-7111.
Carlton McCreery maintains an active career as both cellist and conductor. In addition to performing with the internationally acclaimed Cadek Trio, Mr. McCreery serves as Professor of Violoncello and Director of Orchestral Studies at the University of Alabama. Mr. McCreery has concertized in China, South America, Austria, France, Germany, Hungary, Romania, Switzerland, Cuba and the cultural centers of New York, Boston and Washington, D.C.
The New York Times wrote “…vital involvement in the stuff of each piece.” The Bucaramanga Vanguardia Liberal wrote that the performance showed “flawless interpretation and . . . refined beauty.” “He dealt with the variety of moods with a high degree of virtuosity.” said the Meridian Star and the Birmingham News said, “Carlton McCreery performed musically, with clean intonation and flawless rhythm. . .” Following his concert on the Great Performance Series in Charleston, SC, the News and Courier exclaimed how he “created stunning climaxes with his virtuosity and equally clean technique.”
Mr. McCreery has collaborated in performance with such renowned artists as Aaron Copland, Pierre Boulez, Robert Shaw, Malcolm Frager, Charles Treger, Paul Rolland, David Schiffrin, Ransom Wilson, Andres Cardenes, Roberto Diaz, Andres Diaz, Miles Hoffman, Carlos Prieto Sr, and William Preucil. Mr. McCreery’s principal teachers included Gregor Piatigorsky, Antonio Janigro and Lynn Harrell. His conducting studies included work with Elizabeth A. H. Green and Karl Melles of the Vienna State Opera at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria.
As a former member of the Artist-Faculty of the Brevard Music Center, he served over three decades as Principal Conductor of the Repertory Symphony Orchestra and Principal Cellist of the Brevard Music Center Festival Orchestra. Additionally, McCreery has served as Conductor of the Tupelo Ballet Company. He currently serves as Principal Cellist of the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra, the Tupelo Symphony and Tuscaloosa Symphony Orchestras. He has also served as Resident Conductor of the Tuscaloosa Symphony Orchestra. Mr. McCreery is a spokesperson for the international Super-Sensitive Musical String Company. As an educator, McCreery is in constant demand. His former students perform with prestigious orchestras and teach at universities and music festivals throughout the country.
Dr. Sarkis Baltaian has gained an international reputation as a concert pianist, chamber musician, recording artist and pedagogue. He has been praised by critics for his “beautiful tone and ability to project even the most delicate pianissimos” and compared to George Gershwin and Oscar Levant for his performance of Gershwin’s Concerto in F. Dr. Baltaian made his Carnegie Hall Debut in 1999 and has performed extensively both as recitalist and concerto soloist with major orchestras throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and Australia.
Dr. Baltaian has been a top prize winner of various national and international competitions and has appeared as guest artist in numerous festivals including the Aspen International Music Festival, Holland Music Sessions, Bad Bertrich Klaviersommer, Pan Pacific Music Festival and Plovdiv International Chamber Music Festival. Dr. Baltaian has made recordings for Television and Radio Stations and has been featured in live concerts and interviews on NBC, NPR, KUSC- Los Angeles, K-Mozart- Los Angeles, WMFT-Chicago, Bulgarian National Radio, Classic FM-Bulgaria among others.
A dedicated teacher, Dr. Baltaian’s students have won various national and international competitions and continue to establish themselves as respectable musicians. He is a fierce advocate for the music education of young musicians and has served on the piano faculty at the Pan Pacific Music Festival in Sydney, Australia and as a chamber music coach for the Junior Chamber Music Series in Los Angeles. Dr. Baltaian is in demand as clinician and regularly presents Master Classes at Universities across the United States. He is frequently invited to adjudicate for such organizations as the Music Teachers National Association, Music Teachers Association of California, Junior Bach Festival and Southwestern Youth Music Festival.
Dr. Baltaian began to study piano at the age of four with Rositza Ivancheva at the “Dobrin Petkov” Music High School for gifted students in his native Bulgaria. He continued his education at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles where he received the Bachelor of Music, Masters of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts Degrees under the direction of renowned pedagogue and concert artist John Perry who describes Dr. Baltaian as “a musical talent of genius quality”.
From 2002-2006, Dr. Baltaian served as the teaching assistant to Professor John Perry at the University of Southern California and was also a member of the piano faculty at the California State University, Los Angeles from 2005-2008.
Currently, Dr. Baltaian is an Assistant Professor of Music (Piano) at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.