Search - William Doppmann;pianist;Willa Doppmann;pianist :: SCCS Silver Anniversary Commemorative Album: Founders Showcase

This Second City Chamber Series recording features internationally known pianists William and Willa Doppmann in a special program of music for two pianos. The Doppmanns resided in Tacoma, Washington from 1975 to 1985 and contributed greatly to the musical life of the Pacific Northwest. In 1977, in what would become perhaps their most lasting mark in Tacoma, the Doppmanns founded the Second City Chamber Series Tacoma s only community-based producer of professional chamber music concerts in series. That series entered its twenty-fifth year in 2001-2002. As part of its special Silver Anniversary Season, the Second City Chamber Series is proud to present this Commemorative Album celebrating both the artistry and the legacy of William and Willa Doppmann in this Founders Showcase recording. All best wishes for your enjoyment! Jerry Kracht, Artistic Director, Second City Chamber SeriesABOUT THE ARTISTS WILLIAM DOPPMANN is a former winner of the Naumburg, Michaels and Leventritt Competitions. He has concertized in the United States, Canada, Europe, South America and the Far East. His performances as recitalist, chamber musician and soloist with major orchestras, including the Chicago, Cincinnati, Houston, Detroit, Seattle and Tokyo Symphonies, are consistently met with the highest critical praise. Fanfare recently called him an exceptional pianist, one of the great unheralded keyboard artists of our day. He has appeared at numerous festivals including Marlboro, Cleveland s Blossom Festival, Ravinia in Chicago, the Hong Kong International Festival, Chamber Music Northwest and the Kuhmo International Festival in Finland. His 1986 New York recital at Lincoln Center was described by the New York Times as one of the most distinctive of the season. Also a composer, Mr. Doppmann has received two NEA Consortium Grants, a Guggenheim Fellowship, the University of Michigan Alumni Citation of Merit, and an ASCAP Annual Award every year since 1993. In the Northwest he served as Artistic Director of Chamber Music at Port Townsend for twenty-five years and, together with his wife, pianist Willa Doppmann, was co-founder of Tacoma s Second City Chamber Series. Mr. Doppmann has made recordings for Nonesuch, Delos, Finland s Kuhmo Festival Recordings, and Albany Recordings. Praise for Four American Piano Sonatas, released by Equilibrium Recordings in 1999, has been widespread and is typified by Stuart Hamilton s (CBC) comment, The performance is profoundly musical, the virtuosity stupefying. WILLA DOPPMANN received her formal training at the University of Iowa, Iowa City, and also served on the piano faculty there. She later taught piano at Southwest Texas University in San Marcos. Upon returning to her native Northwest in the mid 1970s she soon figured prominently in many performances of chamber music in the Tacoma area, most notably as co-founder, with her husband, pianist William Doppmann, of the Second City Chamber Series. She served as artistic director of that series from its founding in 1977 until 1982. Under her leadership the Second City Chamber Series won both the Allied Arts Award for Cultural Achievement and the Tacoma/Pierce County Civic Arts Commission Award for Community Contribution in the Arts. A credit to her artistry and early vision, the series now celebrates its twenty-fifth season in 2001-2002. In addition to her chamber music activities, Mrs. Doppmann also appeared locally as piano soloist with the Northwest Chamber Orchestra and the Pacific Lutheran University Symphony Orchestra, and in two-piano performances with her husband. Since leaving the Northwest she has continued her musical activities wherever the Doppmanns have made their home, in New York, Maine, Michigan and, currently, New Mexico. Mrs. Doppmann al