Russian virtuoso to perform at Orange Hall

Middletown — The Russian pianist Ilya Yakushev will perform at 3 p.m. on Sunday, April 23, at Orange Hall Theater, as a presentation of the Lyceum Series of Events. The program is entitled “A Piano Recital of Russian Works,” with music by Yakushev, and selections by Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, Prokofiev, and Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition.” In 1998, Yakushev received the Award for Excellence in Performance from the Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation. That same year, he won first prize for the second year in a row in the Donostia Hiria International Piano Competition in San Sebastian, Spain. In the summer of 2005, Yakushev won first prize and a gold medal at the World Piano Competition in Cincinnati, Ohio. This award entitles him to perform his solo recital debut at Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center in New York City in the 2006-2007 season. As a Mannes Concerto Competition winner, Yakushev performed Prokofiev’s “Third Piano Concerto” at Alice Tully Hall in November 2004, under the baton of Maestro Paul Nadler from the Metropolitan Opera. The performance was broadcast on WQXR 96.3 FM in February 2005. In January 2005, he performed a solo recital at the Glinka Philharmonic Hall in St. Petersburg, Russia, and subsequently recorded a solo CD at the Melodiya Studios in Moscow, Russia. Yakushev received a bachelor of music degree from Mannes College in 2003, at which time he was honored with the Academic Excellence Award for the highest grade point average of that year’s undergraduate class. He received a master of music degree from Mannes in 2005, and is currently pursuing a professional studies diploma at Mannes, where he studies piano with Vladimir Feltsman. Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for senior citizens, and free for all students. There are also group rates. Orange Hall Theater is universally accessible, and is located at Orange County Community College, on the corner of Wawayanda and Grandview avenues in Middletown. For more information, call 341-4891, write to cultural@sunyorange.edu, or visit www.sunyorange.edu/lyceum.