Community Calendar

International acclaimed pianist Ralph Votapek will present a free concert on November 1 at Eastern Illinois University. The concert will take place at 7:30 p.m. in the Dvorak Concert Hall and will be presented free of charge and a ticket is not required. Ralph Votapek’s performance is presented in conjunction with the 2019 Illinois State Music Teachers Association Conference being held at the University’s Doudna Fine Arts Center.

As the first winner of the prestigious Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, Ralph Votapek’s remarkable career has taken him literally around the world performing with the leading orchestras and conductors. Featured no less than sixteen times as the Chicago Symphony’s guest soloist, Votapek has frequently played with the Boston Pops, also concertizing with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the San Francisco Symphony, National Symphony, and leading orchestras around the globe.

Mr. Votapek was the soloist on Arthur Fiedler’s last Boston Pops recording, a Gershwin program released on CD by London Records, and most recently available as part of the Deutsche Grammophon CD titled “The Arthur Fiedler Legacy.” In recent years Votapek has recorded prolifically for the Ivory Classics and Blue Griffin labels.

Born in Milwaukee, Mr. Votapek began his musical education at age nine, when he enrolled in the Wisconsin Conservatory. Continuing his studies at Northwestern University, he subsequently attended the Manhattan School of Music and The Juilliard School. He has served as Artist-in-Residence at Michigan State University where he is currently Professor Emeritus of Piano at the College of Music.  Votapek’s compelling keyboard style embodies all that is best in twentieth-century piano traditions, combining the fire, poetry and tonal warmed of the grand-manner prewar era with the modern-day virtues of clarity and electrifying rhythmic flair.

In addition to presenting the free concert at 7:30 p.m.on Friday evening during the ISMTA conference, Dr. Votapek will be presenting a masterclass on November 2 for conference participants.

The Doudna Fine Arts Center is located at 1860 South 7th Street in Charleston on the campus of Eastern Illinois University. Convenient free parking is located near the fine arts center. To arrange accommodations for those needing special assistance, contact Doudna Fine Arts Patron Services at 217-581-3110 or doudnatix@eiu.edu.