The Kantorski-Pope Piano Duo will present a Live in the House concert, “Four Hands Dancing: A Program of Music for One Piano Four Hands,” April 2 at 7:30 p.m. in the Pemberville Opera House.
Tickets for the show are $12 and are available at Beeker’s General Store, from Carol Bailey at 419-287-4848 and at the door.
The Kantorski-Pope Piano Duo was formed in 1988 by pianists Valrie Kantorski and Ann Almond Pope. In 2012, Steinway & Sons awarded the Duo the title of Steinway Ensemble Artists in recognition of its distinguished career in music. The Duo is a three-time winner of First Prize in the Graves Duo-Piano Competition. The two-piano ensemble was awarded the Virginia E. Schrader Residency in the performing arts from the Toledo Museum of Art in conjunction with the national touring exhibition entitled Impressionism. In addition, the duo was selected for membership in the Touring Artists Program of the Ohio Arts Council. Other activities have included performances with the Toledo Symphony Orchestra, appearances on Public Radio and Television, and participation in the New Music and Arts Festival sponsored by the MidAmerican Center for Contemporary Music. The duo can be heard in their recording of the Brahms
Hungarian Dances on the Whaling City Sound label.
Valrie Kantorski has performed in chamber music groups in the Salzburg Music Festival, at Carnegie Recital Hall and numerous other venues throughout the United States. Ms. Kantorski has been a collaborative recitalist at the International Double Reed Society conferences, the International Saxophone Workshop, the International Double Bass Workshop, and as accompanist for the U.S. finals of the International Chopin Piano Competition. She is the principal keyboardist of the Toledo Symphony, performing as orchestral, chamber, and solo pianist. Ms. Kantorski is a nationally certified teacher of music, and maintains a private piano studio in Toledo, Ohio. Born and raised in Miami, Florida, she soloed with orchestras playing Beethoven and Mozart concerti at the age of 16. She has been on the adjunct music faculties of Adrian College, Florida State University and Florida International University, a member of the Florida Philharmonic, Ft. Lauderdale Symphony, the Greater Miami Opera orchestra, and the South Florida Chamber Ensemble, and has recorded on Whaling City Sound, Coronet, Capstone, and Access labels.
Ann Almond Pope resides in Chattanooga, Tennessee where she maintains a private piano studio. She has taught at Bryan College and the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga. Prior to 1998, she was adjunct instructor of piano and piano pedagogy in the College of Musical Arts at Bowling Green State University and instructor of piano in the Creative Arts Program. Her early training was in Chattanooga, at the Cadek Conservatory of Music. While studying there, she was soloist with the Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Pope received the Bachelor of Music degree from Florida State University where she studied piano with Edward Kilenyi and repertoire with the Hungarian composer Ernst von Dohnanyi. Her Master of Music degree is from Bowling Green State University. She was a keyboardist with the Toledo Symphony during the 1990’s and a soloist with the Perrysburg (Ohio) Symphony. Ms. Pope’s arrangements of duo-piano music have been published by Belwin/Warner Bros. She is a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.
