Marina Lomazov and Joseph Rackers, world-renowned pianists, will play in concert on Sunday, January 30th 5 pm, at the Fripp Island Community Center. This performance is not to be missed! Lomazov & Rackers are winners of countless international competitions, Steinway artists, Julliard & Eastman trained, and have to their credit appearances on four continents and in 50 states. Tickets at the door are $20; students $10. A free Fripp pass is available at the island gate. Attendees are invited to meet the artists at a catered event following the performance.
The Lomazov/Rackers piano duo came to attention in 2005 as the Second Prize Winners of the Sixth Biennial Ellis Duo Piano Competition, the only national competition for piano duo in the United States at that time. Since then, they have performed at recitalists and in concert with orchestras throughout the United States and Europe, including performances on the “Summer Evenings in Kiev” concert series (Ukraine), Varna International Masterclasses in Piano (Bulgaria), Moulin d’Ande Arts Festival (France) and Burgos International Music Festival (Spain) in addition to appearances in Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, New York, Oregon and throughout South Carolina.
In 2009, they were named to the International Roster of Steinway Artists. In 2010, they gave the world premiere performance of a new two-piano concerto by John Fitz Rogers, commissioned by the South Carolina Philharmonic Orchestra as part of the Society of Composers International Conference.
Recent and upcoming engagements include performances with the Chernigov Symphony Orchestra (Ukraine), Lukas Theatre in Savannah, Georgia, performances and Masterclasses at Arizona State University, University of Colorado, the Music at Penn Alps Concert series in Maryland, the Augusta Symphony Orchestra Columbia County Concert Series in Georgia, the Central Oregon Symphony Concert Series, and performances as soloists with the University of South Carolina Symphony Orchestra, among numerous others.
As advocates for 20th and 21st Century music, the Lomazov/Rackers duo has given more than twenty performances of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring across the United States since 2006. Critics have written that the duo “…really lit up the audience… demonstrated that nearly 100 years after it was written, this modernist touchstone can still sound modern.” In 2005, the duo gave the South Carolina premiere of Halleluiah Junction by John Adams, and in 2008, they gave the World Premiere of Ad Lucem by John Fitz Rogers. Their performances have been described as “splendid” (Rochester, NY, WXXI radio), and a review of a recent performance of the Poulenc Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra said simply: “The soloists? Amazing.” (The State, SC).
As a solo pianist, Marina Lomazov has performed throughout the United States as well as Europe, South America and the Far East. She has won prizes in the Bachauer, Cleveland, Hilton Head, Kapell and National Federation solo piano competitions and was the first pianist to be awarded the Artist Diploma at the Eastman School of Music in nearly two decades. Joseph Rackers has performed throughout the United States, Bulgaria, Canada, China, France, Germany, Spain and Ukraine at venues including the Shanghai and Sichuan Conservatories of Music (China), Dame Myra Hess Concert Series (Chicago), Sulzbach-Rosenberg International Music Festival (Germany) Banff Centre for the Arts (Canada), Yantai International Music Festival (China) and in twenty states in the U.S. He is the recipient of the prestigious Performer’s Certificate from the Eastman School of Music.
Ms. Lomazov and Mr. Rackers both hold the Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Piano Performance from the Eastman School of Music and both serve on the piano faculty of the University of South Carolina School of Music.
The evening promises to be memorable. Concertgoers will enjoy artistry, masterful technique, and a performance that has been described as mesmerizing.
