y - Piano
E. Martin Perry made his orchestral debut at the age of 15 in his hometown of Sacramento, California, where critic William Glackin called his performance of the Mendelssohn G minor Piano Concerto 'simply sensational'. After studies with renowned pedagogues Patricia Taylor Lee and Thomas Schumacher, he graduated from the Juilliard School under the tutelage of Adele Marcus, herself a pupil of the legendary Russian pianist Josef Lhévinne. Embarking on a busy concert schedule, Mr. Perry also moonlighted in New York as a Broadway pianist, with a special affinity for the music of Gershwin, Bernstein and Sondheim. His acclaimed performance in Stephen Sondheim's Marry Me A Little led to a best-selling recording on the RCA Red Seal label. Mr. Perry first came to Maine as musical director for Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story with the Portland Symphony Orchestra, and returned several summers to direct at the Maine State Music Theatre, eventually making his home in Brunswick, Maine. He has served on the piano faculties of Bowdoin and Bates Colleges, and continued an affiliation with PSO as orchestra pianist for several years. This is his fourth solo appearance with the orchestra, having previously performed the Edvard Grieg Piano Concerto and Gershwin's Concerto in F and Rhapsody in Blue.
Mr. Perry's competitions include the William Kapell and the Dranoff International Two Piano Competition, where he was awarded the bronze medal for his collaboration with Kathryn Lewis. After a Carnegie Hall debut, Lewis and Perry toured the U.S. several times and have appeared in recent seasons with the Arkansas Symphony, Boston Pops, Florida Philharmonic and Baltic Philharmonic. They have also appeared locally in Portland Concert Association's Great Performances series.
Mr. Perry now divides his time between Maine and New York City, performing a diverse array of solo, chamber and orchestral music, ranging from the complete piano works of Alan Hovhaness (with whom he shares an Armenian-American heritage) to 18th and 19th century classical and romantic repertoire on Viennese fortepianos from the studio of R.J. Regier in Freeport, Maine. He is currently preparing to record the complete piano works of Robert Schumann on fortepiano as part of that composer's upcoming bicentennial celebration.
Anastasia Antonacos - Piano
Anastasia Antonacos has given notable performances around the world as a solo recitalist and chamber musician. She has played at venues such as the Salle Cortot, Casa Orfeo, Holland’s Alkmaar Conservatory, and Alice Tully Hall. She has also played in Greece, Russia, France, and Belgium, as well as various places in the U.S., including Washington D.C., where she testified for funding for the National Endowment for the Arts.
She won First Place at the International Young Artist Music Competition in Bulgaria, and she holds prizes from the Capdepera International Piano Competition in Mallorca and the Indianapolis Matinee Musicale Competition. In 2004 the Greek Women’s University Club of Chicago awarded her the Kanellos Award.
She attended the Holland Music Sessions, the Bowdoin Summer Music Festival, and the Wilhelm Kempff Beethoven Course in Positano, Italy, where she was one of eight pianists selected for an intensive study of Beethoven led by John O’Conor.
Dr. Antonacos has made solo appearances with the Portland Symphony Orchestra and the Bangor Symphony Orchestra. Some of the musicians she has collaborated with include members of the Vermeer and Cassatt Quartets, and renowned pianists Leonard Hokanson and Edmund Battersby. She holds doctoral and master’s degrees in piano performance from Indiana University. She has been a chamber music coach at Bay Chamber Concerts’ Next Generation program for many years, and she regularly serves as a masterclass teacher and adjudicator. A dedicated teacher, Anastasia is a member of the music faculty at the University of Southern Maine, as well as Bates and Bowdoin Colleges.
