Georgia Tech School of Music Presents:
Argentina Mon Amour
Monday, February 26th 2024
7:30pm
Ferst Center for the Arts
Georgia Tech Concert Orchestra
Andrea Perez Muksdi, Chaowen Ting, conductors
Composer Bio – Gabriel Fauré
Gabriel Fauré, French composer, organist, pianist, and teacher, was a highly influential 20th century composer. Despite not being born into a particularly musical family, his talent was recognized at a young age, and he was sent to the École Niedermeyer College in Paris, where he studied under many teachers including Saint-Saëns. He first pursued his other musical talents, performing piano and organ at various organizations, before beginning composition, and he soon became the most well-known composer in France at the time.
Composer Bio – Astor Piazzolla
Astor Piazzolla was an Argentine tango composer. Born and raised in Argentina in 1921, he grew up listening to Argentine music, and he used his upbringings as an inspiration to many of his own compositions. In 1953, he entered his piece “Buenos Aires Symphony in Three Movements'' for the Fabian Sevitzky Award, but during the performance of the piece, a fight broke out over the fact that he had included two bandeons, an instrument typically used in tango ensembles, in a classical piece. Despite this, he won a grant to study under Nadia Boulanger, who encouraged him to incorporate his Argentine upbringing and influences in his music, rather than stick with the classical European influences, leading him to become a famous tango composer.
Composer Bio – Nadia Boulanger
Nadia Boulanger, a French music teacher, conductor, and pianist, was the first woman to conduct many major orchestras across the United States and Europe. Born into a musical family, she studied at the Conservatoire de Paris, where she studied with Gabriel Fauré, another composer featured in this concert. Early in her career, she believed she did not have talent composing, and instead focused on being a music teacher. She taught many other young composers, including another composer that is featured in this concert: Astor Piazzolla. Eventually, she was encouraged to start composing by Fauré, and she went on to compose many well-known pieces and conduct famous orchestras throughout the world.
Pianist Bio – María Luz Poirier
Argentine pianist María Luz Poirier is an advocate of contemporary music and emerging women composers from Latin América.
For her outstanding artistry and impressive versatility, Poirier garnered recognition through the Italian Government Grant (MAE Scholarship), which allowed her to study at Istituto Pietro Mascagni (Livorno) in 2013 and 2014.
As a soloist, Poirier has performed in Livorno, Firenze, and Bellagio (Italia), Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro (Brasil), Asunción (Paraguay), Buenos Aires, Rosario, Santa Fe, Salta, Tucumán, Río Tercero, Córdoba, and La Plata (Argentina). In 2011 and 2012 she was invited to join the Martha Argerich Present Project (MAPp), organized by this renowned Argentine pianist. Poirier is a guest soloist with the Orquesta de Cámara Municipal de Rosario and remains an active chamber musician as a member of various ensembles in Argentina.
An alumni of the Universidad Nacional de Rosario, Poirier’s career began with Norma Scarafía and Ana María Cué. She continued her music education earning her Licenciatura in piano performance and MM in chamber music performance. She has worked with Daniel Rivera, Dario Ntaca, Edith Fisher, Finlay Ferguson, Fernando Pérez, Alexander Panizza. In 2002, Poirier was chosen as a finalist in the IX Pau Casals International Competition. She has been awarded first prize in the XXV Mozarteum Festival for Young Talents.
Poirier is member of Ensamble Warmi, an all-women group committed to promote and preserve the music of Latin American women composers of the 20th and 21st centuries. Created in 2019, the group also supports living women composers by actively commissioning music. With Ensamble Warmi, Poirier has premiered more than 10 works in Argentina, Venezuela, and Brazil.
Currently, Poirier is professor of piano and piano accompanist at the Carlos Guastavino Music School and the School of Music of Rosario, Argentina.