Program
MUSSORGSKY Night on Bald Mountain
Louisville Orchestra + Louisville Youth Orchestra
MÁRQUEZ Conga del Fuego Nuevo
Louisville Orchestra + Louisville Youth Orchestra
W.A. MOZART Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor
Avery Gagliano, piano + Louisville Orchestra
The Gheens Great Expectations concert provides a unique opportunity for young people throughout Kentucky. Kicking off the annual Kentucky Music Educators Association performances, which brings together the Commonwealth’s best student performers, this free concert showcases the nation’s top rising classical performers. The concert also provides a unique opportunity for Louisville Youth Orchestra musicians to study and perform with members of the Louisville Orchestra. In addition to the concert, the featured soloist connects with groups throughout the community, helping make the arts accessible to all.
This concert is made possible with generous support from the Gheens Foundation, with additional support from Kentucky Music Educators Association and 90.5 WUOL Classical Louisville.
Avery Gagliano
Having recently made her Carnegie Hall debut and released her debut album “Reflections” on the Steinway & Sons label, 21-year-old pianist Avery Gagliano captures audiences with her sensitivity, emotional depth, and musical expression. Avery gained international attention as the First Prize and Best Concerto Prize winner of the 2020 National Chopin Piano Competition, and as the only American semifinalist at the 18th International Chopin Competition in 2021.
Her performance highlights include appearances at world-renown stages such as the Verbier Festival, Gilmore Festival, Bravo!Vail Festival, Ravinia Festival, Aspen Music Festival, Swiss Alps Classics Festival, Carnegie Hall, Warsaw Philharmonic Hall, Cavatina Hall, Louis Vuitton Foundation, Salle Cortot, and WQXR Greene Space.
Avery has soloed with orchestras throughout the United States, including the Aspen Philharmonic Orchestra, Tuscarawas Philharmonic, MostArts Festival Orchestra, Oregon Mozart Players, the Bravura Philharmonic Orchestra and Symphony in C. A passionate chamber musician, she regularly collaborates with ensembles, most recently sharing the stage with the Balourdet Quartet at Bravo!Vail. She also frequently performs as a guest artist with the Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players in New York.
Avery received the Audience Prize at the 2019 Cliburn International Junior Piano Competition, and was the winner of the Aspen Music Festival Concerto Competition, MostArts Festival Piano Competition, and 2019 National YoungArts Competition. She is an alumna of the Verbier Festival & Academy, Gstaad Piano Academy, and the Lang Lang International Music Foundation’s Young Scholars Program, a four-year winner of the US Chopin Foundation Scholarship, and has made several appearances on Philadelphia’s WRTI classical radio and National Public Radio’s (NPR) From The Top.
At the invitation of Sir András Schiff, she will join the Building Bridges concert series and appear in recitals throughout Europe in the 2022/23 season. She will also make her debut with the Maryland Symphony Orchestra, Fort Collins Symphony, and Avanti Orchestra.
Avery is originally from Washington, D.C., where she studied with Marina Alekseyeva. She currently resides in Philadelphia and studies at the Curtis Institute of Music with Robert McDonald. She has also studied with Gary Graffman and Jonathan Biss while at Curtis.
Avery Gagliano appears by special arrangement with
Curtis on Tour, the Nina von Maltzahn global touring initiative of the Curtis
Institute of Music.