Awadagin Pratt facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Awadagin Pratt
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| Birth name | Awadagin Pratt |
| Born | March 6, 1966 |
| Origin | Normal, Illinois, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Pianist |
| Years active | 1998–present |
Awadagin Pratt (/ɑːwɑːˈdɑːdʒɪn/; born March 6, 1966) is an amazing American concert pianist. He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is known for his incredible talent at the piano and for performing all over the world!
Contents
The Journey of a Musician
Awadagin Pratt started playing piano when he was six years old. Later, when he was nine, he also began learning the violin. He was very talented!
When he was just 16, Awadagin went to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. After that, he moved to the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore, Maryland. This was a big deal because he was the first student there to earn diplomas in three different areas: piano, violin, and conducting (leading an orchestra).
A Big Win and Famous Performances
In 1992, Awadagin Pratt made history. He became the first African-American pianist to win the Naumburg International Piano Competition. This is a very important music contest!
Winning this competition made him very famous. He started performing a lot, sometimes 70 concerts in a single year! He has played with almost every major orchestra in the United States.
He even performed at the White House for Presidents Bill Clinton and Obama. You might have also seen him on the TV show Sesame Street!
Teaching and Continued Performances
In 2004, Awadagin Pratt became a piano professor at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. He taught students there for many years.
In 2023, he joined the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He still performs up to 30 times a year across the United States and in other countries. He is also an experienced conductor, leading orchestras in the US and Japan.
What He Likes to Play
People often notice Awadagin Pratt's unique style, even in his clothes! He might wear a colorful shirt and socks with a picture of Vincent van Gogh on them.
He loves to play music by many famous composers. Some of his favorites include Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, Johannes Brahms, César Franck, Edvard Grieg, Modest Mussorgsky, and Sergei Rachmaninoff.
His Music Albums
Awadagin Pratt has released several albums (CDs) where you can hear his amazing piano playing:
- A Long Way From Normal (1994): This was his first album. The title is a fun reference to Normal, Illinois, where he grew up. It includes music by Liszt, Franck, Brahms, and Bach.
- Beethoven Piano Sonatas (1995): This album features some of Beethoven's beautiful piano sonatas.
- Live From South Africa (1997): This album was recorded live in Cape Town. It includes works by Bach, Brahms, Franck, and Rachmaninoff.
- Transformations (1999): This album has Mussorgsky's famous Pictures at an Exhibition. It also includes a special version of Bach's Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 582 that Pratt arranged himself.
- Play Bach (2002): This album is all about Bach's music, including some of his famous concertos.
- Stillpoint (2023): This album features new music written just for piano, strings, and vocals.
