Faculty
ANNA KEISERMAN, piano
Russian-born and New York-based pianist Anna Keiserman is known for her creative programming, expressive freedom, and singular vision.
Performance credits in New York City include performing at Le Poisson Rouge, the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, and the Fête de La Musique at the invitation of the French-American Piano Society. Other notable venues include the Jay and Linda Grunin Center for the Arts (Toms River, NJ) and the Strand Theater (Hudson Falls, NY), Ateneu Barcelonès (Barcelona, Spain). In the summer of 2019 Anna embarked on a concert tour through Spain, premiering the Sonata Cerdanyenca for Cello and Piano by Marc Migó Cortes.
As a soloist Anna has performed concerti with the Volgograd Symphony Orchestra (Volgograd, Russia), University of Minnesota Symphony Orchestra, Somerset Symphony Orchestra among others, and also toured through Italy, Spain and Russia. Among Dr. Keiserman’s awards are top prizes in international piano competitions in Russia, as well as second place in the 2019 American Prize Competition. In 2017 Anna received the “Culture and Art Award” from the New Russia Cultural Center in Rensselaer, NY, for her dedication to promoting arts and culture in the community.
With her debut album, Russian Mosaic, released in 2019 on the Sheva Collection label, Anna offers rarely heard gems by Rachmaninoff, Shchedrin, Smirnov, and Medtner. Hailed as “the impressive pianist who played brilliantly” by New York Concert Review, the Atlanta Audio Club observed: “Her insights into the four masters of Russian piano music we have here bring them to instant, vibrant life before our very ears. Keiserman applies her notable brilliance to create the strongest impressions.”
Highlights of the 2022 season included concert tours and masterclasses in Minnesota, Virginia, Kansas, and a recording of solo piano works by composer Jordi Cervelló. The trio for saxophone, bassoon and piano Bercesue- Lament by Marc Migó Cortes will be released in the Fall 2022 by PARMA Records label. Dr. Keiserman has collaborated with many contemporary composers in projects including commissions, recordings, and world premieres. The current season featured premieres of works by John Sichel and Steve Cohen for the woodwind quintet Atlantic Chamber Players.
Anna Keiserman has served as faculty at the NYU Steinhardt School of the Arts, at the Rutgers University Extension Division, and at William Paterson University. Having earned degrees from the Gnessin Russian Academy of Music in Moscow and the University of Minnesota, Dr. Keiserman completed her Doctorate in Piano Performance at Rutgers University, where she earned the Elizabeth Wyckoff Durham Award for academic distinction and excellence in piano performance. In September 2020, Anna joined the faculty of Raritan Valley Community College as an Assistant Professor of Piano.
With a focus on actively engaging audiences, Anna created several custom programs for the Salmagundi Art Club in New York City. With her American Music 1917-18, Sounding Palettes, and New York Lights concerts, Anna invited audiences to explore surprising repertoire in a variety of cultural contexts. She is currently Artistic Director of the Mozaika Concert Series at Raritan Valley Community College, a series that has been created to promote multicultural dialogue through the performance of music from the classical canon through to the 21st century.
ALAN HARRIS, CELLO
Alan Harris is distinguished professor of cello at the Eastman School of Music. He has been an artist-faculty member at the Aspen Music Festival and School from 1974 to 2013, where he performed with Claus Adam, the Cleveland Quartet, Ronald Leonard, Jan DeGaetani, Albert Tipton, Gidon Kremer, Karen Tuttle, Malcom Frager, Brooks Smith, Pinchas Zukerman, and others. More recently, he has taught at the Castleman Quartet Program and Aria at Mount Holyoke College.
Harris held the post of Kulas Professor of Music, Chair of the String Department, and Coordinator of Chamber Music at the Cleveland Institute of Music, and was director of the Cleveland Chamber Music Seminar. Other previous faculty appointments include the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico, Ohio Wesleyan and Northwestern Universities, visiting professor and faculty member at the Eastman School of Music, and visiting professor at Northern Illinois University.
Harris studied with Raymond Stuhl at the University of Kansas and with János Starker at Indiana University. An active recitalist, soloist, and chamber musician, he served as cellist with the Eastman Quartet, was a first-desk player with the Rochester Philharmonic, and was principal cellist of the Eastman and Rochester chamber orchestras. During his distinguished teaching career Mr. Harris has given numerous solo and chamber music master lasses and has been active as a panelist and lecturer. His students occupy prestigious positions throughout the music world.
