Michael Schneider made his orchestral debut performing Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 20 with the San Angelo Symphony at the age of eleven. Critics have since hailed Michael as “a pianist with exceptional insight” and a “performer with great panache” in performances across the states and overseas to Poland and France. In July 2003, Michael performed a guest artist solo recital at the International Chopin Festival in Nohant, France. This performance took place at the legendary Château of George Sand where Chopin lived for part of his life. Then on March 6th, 2004, Michael brought the unknown Piano Concerto by Jules Massenet to Oklahoma as guest artist of the Bartlesville Symphony Orchestra, home of the summer OK Mozart Festival. As a devotee of the music of Ignaz Jan Paderewski, Michael brings this music to a variety of venues. At the 8th Annual Paderewski Festival in California (March 2000), his performance of the grueling Paderewski Sonata prompted three standing ovations and three encores.
Michael made his Carnegie Hall debut performing in Weill Recital Hall on November 16, 2002 as a prizewinner of the 2002 Frinna Awerbuch International Piano Competition, also winning the prize for the best performance of a work by an American contemporary composer. Michael has consistently won prizes at international piano competitions, winning second prize at the 10th Pacific Piano Competition in Vancouver, Canada last February 2004. On March 2, 2003, Michael was awarded first prize in the Stewart Graduate Grant in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. In 2000, he won both the silver medal and audience choice award at the 7th San Antonio International Piano Competition. Michael has received top prizes from the 4th International Paderewski Piano Competition held in Poland, the Kosciuszko Foundation Chopin Piano Competition in New York, the Texas Steinway Society Career Development Award, and the Grace Welsh Prize for Piano in Chicago.
Fall 2004 marked the inauguration of the San Angelo Piano Festival, a new festival in West Texas created and directed by Michael Schneider in order to bring a wealth of talent and music for the city of San Angelo to enjoy and be a part of. Events included several guest artist recitals, impromptu musicales, and a young artist program that included a master class and a young artist showcase recital. One of the missions of the festival is to help bridge the gap between classical music and youth by offering outreach programs to schools in the community. Michael firmly believes in the power of audience participation and involvement Michael has attended the 8-week long festival Pianofest in the Hamptons for seven summers, playing in classes for Arie Vardi, Veda Kaplinsky, and Daniel Shapiro. San Antonio’s television station, KLRN, featured Michael in their 2001 documentary “Rising Stars of the Keyboard.” In fall 2008 Michael started his Doctorate of Musical Arts degree in Piano Performance at the University of Texas at Austin, where he is a recipient of the William C. Race Endowed Presidential Scholarship. Michael was fortunate to have studied for two summers with Dr. Race when Michael was in high school. Visit Michael www.pianomike.com
Dr. Robert Freeman is an accomplished pianist and musicologist who served as the dean of the College of Fine Arts at The University of Texas at Austin from January, 2000 – August, 2006 and is now the Susan Menefee Ragan Regents Professor of Fine Arts and Director of the Bryce Jordan Arts Entrepreneurship Incubator. For 24 years from 1972 from 1996 he was director of the prestigious Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester. In its most recent rankings, the U.S. News & World Report named the Eastman School of Music the nation's leading music school.
Freeman received an undergraduate degree from Harvard College in 1957 and his master's degree and Ph.D. from Princeton University. Before becoming the director at Eastman, Freeman taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Princeton, and was a visiting associate professor at Harvard University. He has play with the Boston Pops and many other orchestras. Prior to coming to Texas he served as president of the New England Conservatory of Music.
San Angelo Museum
of Fine Arts
One Love Street
San Angelo, Texas 76903
Fax: (325) 658 - 6800
Phone: (325) 653 -
3333
e-mail:
museum@samfa.org