Brightmusic Society of Oklahoma presents:
 

Heather Conner

American pianist Dr. Heather Conner has won acclaim from critics and audiences for her “luminous artistry” and her “intelligent, articulate and dynamic playing”. Originally from Lancaster, PA, she is Associate Professor of Piano at the University of Utah. In 2003, she completed her Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Piano Performance from the Manhattan School of Music, NY, where she studied with Arkady Aronov. Under the guidance of renowned pianist, Peter Frankl, as well as tutelage from Boris Berman and Claude Frank, Heather received her Master of Music from the Yale University School of Music. Heather received her Bachelor of Music degree from the Curtis Institute of Music in 1997. The Curtis Institute provides full-tuition scholarships for all its students, attracting the finest musicians from the entire world. While a student at Curtis, Heather studied with the distinguished piano pedagogue Eleanor Sokoloff for five years.
 
Heather, who has been studying since the age of seven, made her solo recital debut in 1990, and in 1992, she performed as soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra. She has also been a soloist with the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra (PA), the Lansdowne Symphony Orchestra(PA), the Corpus Christi Symphony Orchestra(TX), the Pennsylvania Sinfonia Orchestra, the Haddonfield Symphony(NJ),the Altoona Symphony(PA), the Hilton Head Island Symphony Orchestra(SC), the Midland-Odessa Symphony(TX), the Warminster Symphony(PA), the Yale Philharmonia (CT), the Norwalk Symphony(CT), the New American Symphony Orchestra (UT) and the Salt Lake Symphony (UT). In 1998, Heather performed as soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra on two occasions. As a recitalist, Heather has performed in many prestigious venues, such as Steinway Hall and Manhattan School of Music in New York. She has also presented solo recitals in Philadelphia, New Haven, Moscow, Salzburg, Seoul, Greenville (SC) and Salt Lake City.

As an avid chamber musician, Heather has appeared in Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall and the Glenn Gould Studios in Toronto. She is an artist member of the American Dream Chamber Artists, an international roster of musicians who perform chamber music at Symphony Space in New York City. In 1990, she was one of sixty American pianists to participate in the Russia/America Piano Institute at the Gnessin Institute of Music in Moscow. As a result of winning the Altoona competition, Heather studied on scholarship and performed at the Hochschule Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria in July/August 1995. Heather was selected to perform and participate in the 1996 Gilmore International Keyboard Festival in Kalamazoo, Michigan, at the Hungarian consulate in New York City, and in the Bonus Concert Chamber Music Series at Yale. In Utah, Heather has been a regular performer in the Nova Chamber Music Series and the Intermezzo Chamber Music Series. Heather is a regular guest artist in the Niagara International Chamber Music Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada.

Heather is the winner of numerous awards and honors including the 2003 Helen Cohn Award for outstanding doctoral graduate of the Manhattan School of Music, Grand Prizes at the Midland-Odessa National Young Artists Competition (TX), the First International Hilton Head Island Piano Competition (SC), Kingsville International Young Performers Competition (TX), and the Altoona Symphony/Orchestra/Mozarteum Piano Competition (PA), and first prizes in the Yale Woolsey Hall Concerto Competition, the Haddonfield Symphony Solo Competition for Young Instrumentalists (NJ), the Philadelphia Orchestra Junior Student Auditions. She is cited in the Marquis Edition of Who’s Who in America (2004), and the Academic Keys Who’s Who in Higher Education (WWFAHE).

Heather has also performed in the masterclasses of Boris Berman, Leon Fleisher, Claude Frank, Richard Goode, Gary Graffman, Andrzej Jasinski, Jacob Lateiner, Seymour Lipkin, Radu Lupu, Vladimir Tropp and Mitsuko Uchida.