Pianist Washington Garcia to perform the classics at OSU

Thursday, September 10, 2015

Ecuadorian-American pianist Washington Garcia will perform a solo recital featuring works by J. S. Bach, Beethoven, Chopin and Bach-Busoni at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 15, in the Concert Hall of the Seretean Center for the Performing Arts at Oklahoma State University.

The success of Garcia’s first public performance, at the age of six, led him to perform at the most important cultural centers in Ecuador. As the winner of the Concerto Competition at the Peabody Institute, he was selected to perform with the Peabody Concert Orchestra. He was also a top prizewinner at the Yale Gordon Piano Competition, the Russell Wonderlic Piano Competition, and a finalist at the Hilton Head International Piano Competition.

Since his debut with the Ecuadorian National Symphony Orchestra at the age of 15, Garcia has been an active recitalist, soloist, and lecturer in prestigious venues in Italy, Switzerland, Austria, France, Spain, Hungary, Canada, Chile, Mexico, Ecuador, Colombia, Japan, China, Indonesia, Singapore, Taiwan, and the United States, where he has offered solo recitals and master classes in almost 30 states. He was chosen from a large field of contestants from 33 countries by the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C. to receive one of two $25,000 grants awarded to pianists in its Fellowships of the Americas Program.

Garcia holds a bachelor of music from the National Conservatory of Music in Ecuador, and master's and doctoral degrees from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, where he graduated at the age of 25 as the youngest Latin American to have received a doctoral degree in piano performance from that prestigious university. 

Garcia has performed and recorded for Radio Television Hong Kong, Opus Classical Radio in Mexico City, WFMT in Chicago, TV Spain, Rogers Broadcasting Company in Canada, and worldwide broadcasts through Univision.

As an academic administrator, Garcia is currently the assistant director in the School of Music at Texas State University, where he also served as coordinator of the keyboard area. He will join the faculty at the University of Nebraska Omaha as founding director of the School of Music in January 2016.

Garcia became a citizen of the United States in March 2013 and a Steinway Artist in 2014.

Admission to the recital is $8 for adults and $6 for students. Garcia’s visit was made possible through the generosity of the Fae Rawdon Norris Endowment for the Humanities. For more information about this event, please call 405-744-8998.