Phyllis Alpert Lehrer, Solo Piano

Phyllis Alpert Lehrer, a professor of piano and director of graduate piano pedagogy at Westminster Choir College, will lead the celebration of The Greater Princeton Steinway Society’s twenty-fifth season in a solo performance on Sunday, February 15, 2015. The musicale will take place at 3 p.m. in the Recital Hall at Jacobs Music, 2540 Brunswick Pike (U.S. Route 1), Lawrenceville.

Ms. Lehrer’s program will be a reenactment of her inaugural 1989 gala performance for the Steinway Society, featuring works of Mozart, Debussy, Schumann and Chopin. A social hour with refreshments and conversation with Ms. Lehrer will follow her performance.

Accompanying the concert will be an art opening in the recital hall, also echoing Ms. Lehrer’s 1989 performance which was combined with an art show. This year, the show will feature photography by the late Stephen Buzash, a former resident of Hopewell and abstract painter/photographer.

Ms. Lehrer holds a B.A. in music from the University of Rochester and Eastman School of Music, and an M.S. in piano from the Juilliard School of Music. She has enjoyed an active concert career as a soloist and collaborative artist in the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, and South America. Internationally known as a performer, teacher, clinician, author, and adjudicator, her recent publications include five volumes of Classics for the Developing Pianist, with Ingrid Clarfield, and Personal Trainer, an interactive technology workbook for technic, sight playing and theory with Paul Sheftel. Her articles, interviews and reviews on piano pedagogy, music and health have appeared in Keyboard Companion, Clavier, and The European Piano Teachers Journal. She has recorded for the Educo and Seda labels, and has released a CD of duo piano music with her frequent piano partner, Ena Bronstein Barton. She was voted Teacher of the Year for 2012-13 by the New Jersey Music Teachers Association.

Her performances have been acclaimed by The Times of London (“warmth and vibrancy at its best”), Daily Telegraph of London (“an able, warmhearted pianist [with] impressive musicianly qualities”) and The New York Times, which praised her “admirable musicality.”

The Greater Princeton Steinway Society’s twenty-fifth season, featuring in all six internationally celebrated pianists, will conclude with jazz pianist Vince di Mura on Sunday, March 15, also at 3 p.m. at Jacobs Music. It will also include the Society’s annual scholarship competition for young pianists ages 7-18, culminating in a Winners Recital in April 2015.

Founded in 1989, the Steinway Society is dedicated to developing the talent of young piano students. All proceeds from ticket sales help fund scholarship awards for aspiring young pianists.

Steinway Society memberships are $50 per individual or $85 per family and include admission to all performances. Admission for individual musicales is $18 for adults or $10 for full-time students. Tickets may be purchased at the Jacobs Music Recital Hall 30 minutes before each program.

Benefactors contributing $100 and up, and Sponsors contributing $250 or more, also earn admission to all musicales, scholarship competition, and Winners Recital, plus recognition in the concert programs.