Wyoming Arts Council

Piatigorsky Foundation Announces Wyoming Spring Tour

Featured News | April 26, 2022

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After a long pause due to the pandemic, The Piatigorsky Foundation tours of Wyoming are officially back in person, with two tours taking place this spring. The Piatigorsky Foundation works to bring the joy of live classical music to communities throughout the country. The first tour features cellist Evan Drachman and pianist Audrey Vardanega. The duo will be traveling throughout Wyoming April 27-May 2, hosting free public concerts and school outreach programs. 

The schedule for the tour is as follows:

• Wednesday, Apr. 27, Casper Classical Academy and Vibes Fine & Performing Arts, Casper (school shows only)
• Thursday, Apr. 28, Glenrock High School, Glenrock (school show only); Washakie Museum & Cultural Center, Worland, 7:00 p.m. (free and open to the public)
• Saturday, Apr. 30, Powell Library, Powell, 11 a.m.; Cody Senior Center, Cody, 2 p.m. (both free and open to the public)
• Sunday, May 1, Wyoming Pioneer Home, Thermopolis, 1 p.m. (free and open to the public)
• Monday, May 2, Lander Valley High School, Lander (school show only)

Cellist Evan Drachman, Founder and Artistic Director of The Piatigorsky Foundation, has combined musical talent with artistic vision to create a rich and varied career. Mr. Drachman spends much of his time performing recitals, concerti and chamber music in the United States and abroad. As Artistic Director of The Piatigorsky Foundation, he has become one of this country’s most respected authorities on the presentation of live classical music to diverse audiences. The Foundation’s mission is to make live classical music a part of the fabric of everyday life for underserved communities throughout the United States. The organization is named for Mr. Drachman’s grandfather, cellist Gregor Piatigorsky.

Praised as a player “with the kind of freedom, authority, and strength…that one expects from the world’s finest pianists” and a “bewitching musical presence” (The Piedmont Post), 25-year-old pianist Audrey Vardanega was born and raised in Oakland, CA and began her piano studies at the age of six with Araks Aghazarian.  Her past teachers include Seymour Lipkin, Robert Schwartz, Christopher Elton, and Victor Rosenbaum.  She currently studies under the tutelage of Richard Goode at Mannes The New School.  She graduated with her B.A. in Political Science from Columbia University in May 2017.  Along with five other internationally selected pianists, Vardanega participated in the Carnegie Hall Workshops with Jonathan Biss in Feb. 2017, exploring late piano works by Brahms, Beethoven, and Schubert. She is a laureate of the Ravinia Steans’ Music Institute.  As of Jan. 2019, Audrey is the founder and artistic director of Musaics of the Bay, a Bay Area-based chamber music series dedicated to presenting chamber concerts and providing mentorship programs to underserved Bay Area youth.

The Wyoming tour is made possible by the generous support of the Muriel & Seymour Thickman Family Charitable Trust in Sheridan. The Wyoming Arts Council works in partnership with the Piatigorsky Foundation to book the tours each year.

For more information, contact Taylor Craig with the Wyoming Arts Council at 307-274-6673 or taylor.craig@wyo.gov. 

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