Patrick Kreeger featured performer
WILSON, N.C. — The Barton College/Wilson Symphony will present the dynamic local artist Patrick Kreeger in a “tour de force” concert on Sunday, Nov. 20, at the First United Methodist Church, 100 Green St. N. in Wilson. The performance, scheduled for 3 p.m., will feature Kreeger playing the virtuosic harpsichord part in J.S. Bach’s “Brandenburg Concerto No.5, the finale to Louis Vierne’s 5th Organ Symphony and the brilliant Concerto for Organ and Orchestra by Francis Poulenc. The Bach concerto will also feature Andrew Bonner and Alison Mossey playing the solo violin and flute parts, respectively. The orchestra will be conducted by music director Mark N. Peterson.
“This concert has the great fortune to feature a wonderfully talented guest performing in the magnificent venue of the First United Methodist Church on two amazing instruments: the classic Petty-Madden pipe organ and a wonderful new Richard Kingston, two-manual harpsichord,” shared music director Mark N. Peterson. “I have known Patrick since he was a high school student here in North Carolina. He was the one winning every student competition in sight, and it is wonderful to welcome him back again to our community.”
Giving his Carnegie Hall Debut at age 17, Kreeger enjoys a versatile career as both a pianist and organist. A native of Jacksonville, Fla., he began his music studies at age three with Barbara Broach (piano) and later with Dr. Gerson Yessin, the founding chair of the University of North Florida’s Music Department. Kreeger began organ lessons at age 12 with Jim Wood (a protégé of E. Power Biggs.) Upon moving in 2004 to Greenville, N.C., he furthered his piano and organ studies with Dr. Henry Doskey and Colin Andrews, respectively. At age 18, Kreeger began attending as a full scholarship student at the renowned Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.
In addition to his studies at The Curtis Institute, Kreeger maintains a busy performance schedule. In demand as a soloist and chamber musician, his past and current seasons have included performances at Carnegie Hall (N.Y.), Benaroya Hall (Wash.), Meymandi Hall (N.C.), St. Patrick’s Cathedral (N.Y.), Verizon Hall (Philadelphia, Pa.), Peterborough Cathedral (UK), and Cook Hall (NL) as well as many other churches and performance halls around the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. He has had chamber music coachings with Shmuel Ashkenasi, Pamela Frank, Ida Kavafian, and Donald Montanaro; performances in masterclasses with Janos Starker, Dame Gillian Weir, Vincent Dubois, Ludger Lohmann, Peter Frankl, Robert McDonald, and Nelita True. Kreeger gave his symphonic debut in April 2008, performing Sergei Rachmaninoff’s first piano concerto under the baton of Maestro William Henry Curry and the North Carolina Symphony. He has also performed with the Musica Sacra Chamber Orchestra in Denver, Colo.
Kreeger’s stylistic playing has garnered much notice and praise in numerous competitions. A first-prize winner in both the American Protégé International and Bradshaw & Buono International Piano Competitions in February 2009 and May 2007, respectively, he also earned first place in the North Carolina Symphony Concerto Competition in April 2006. The Bronze Medalist of the 2009 Seattle International Piano Competition and the winner of the Chopin Award, Kreeger won first prize in the 2009 Augustana/Reuter National Organ Competition. He was also one of seven national finalists in the Music Teachers’ National Association Senior Piano Competition in March 2007. In addition, he won first place in both the East Carolina University Piano Competition and the East Carolina University Organ Competitions in March 2007 and March 2008, respectively. As a church musician, Kreeger serves as head organist at Leverington Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, Pa.
Admission for the fall orchestra performance will be $10 at the door or by season ticket. All students within the community will be admitted free of charge as well as faculty, staff and students of Barton College. For additional information, please contact Laura Ashley Lamm at 252-399-6309 or email: lalamm@barton.edu.
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Questions? Please contact Kathy Daughety, director of public relations, at 252-399-6529 or email: kdaughety@barton.edu.