Conservatory Student and Faculty Take the Stage
Conservatory Student and Faculty Take the Stage at Carnegie Hall
Many congratulations to Conservatory student Benjamin Araujo and piano faculty Dr. Irena Portenko for their incredible performance at Carnegie Hall on January 8, 2020.
The New York premiere of Benjamin Araujo’s original composition “Nine Portraits for Solo Piano” was performed by renowned pianist Irena Portenko at the upcoming concert in Weill Recital Hall at the legendary Manhattan concert venue. Araujo is a piano student of pianist and composer Mikhail Zeiger, of Hartsdale, at the Conservatory, and Portenko serves as an esteemed piano faculty member at the White Plains music school.
Portenko’s acclaimed piano performances have been reviewed by The New York Times as “honest and clear textured.” She is also the founder of Music in the Alps, an international music institute and festival for young musicians held in Austria. Araujo participated in this program in 2019, where he played classical and jazz music with music experts and students from around the world. His original orchestral composition “A Postcard from New York City” had been performed by The New York Philharmonic as part of the Very Young Composers Program at Lincoln Center’s David Geffen Hall in 2017.
“We are so proud of our amazing faculty and talented students, who have the opportunity to spread their musical wings in many ways at our community music school,” said Conservatory Executive Director, Jean Newton.
What an incredible accomplishment! Brava!