Charlie Albright Piano Masterclass

Hailed as “among the most gifted musicians of his generation” with a “dazzling natural keyboard affinity” who “made quite an impression” by the Washington Post, American pianist/composer/improviser Charlie Albright has been praised for his “jaw-dropping technique and virtuosity meshed with a distinctive musicality” by The New York Times, and his “extravagance that had showmanship but never felt cheap” with his “ease and smoothness that refuses to airbrush the music, but animates it from within” by the Philadelphia Inquirer.  Recipient of the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant and Gilmore Young Artist Award, Albright won the Ruhr Klavier Festival Young Artist Award presented by Marc-André Hamelin (Germany) and the Young Concert Artists International Auditions.  In addition to performing, Albright is sought after as a speaker, masterclass instructor, teacher, and competition judge.  His debut commercial recording, Vivace, has sold thousands of copies worldwide and the first two parts of a 3-part Schubert Series of live, all-Schubert recordings was released in 2017 and 2020. Charlie Albright breaks the "classical" rules of music by connecting with audiences like no other. Through his music, speaking, and unique improvisations that bring music to life, he crosses all genres...and makes it fun.

Albright regularly performs in programs featuring artists from all genres, including vocalist/conductor Bobby McFerrin, violinist Joshua Bell, pianist Emanuel Ax, conductor Gum Nanse, Vocalists Harry Connick Jr., Marc Martel, and Branford Marsalis, and Broadway vocalists Mandy Gonzalez, Scarlett Strallen, and Hugh Panaro.  He has performed five times with revered cellist Yo-Yo Ma: at the honorary degree ceremony at Harvard University for Senator Ted Kennedy; at a 10th anniversary remembrance of 9/11; at the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison; at the Aspen Institute’s Citizen Artistry conference in New York; and with the Silk Road Project.

Albright appears regularly worldwide with such orchestras as the San Francisco, Seattle, Boston Pops, Philly Pops, BBC Concert Orchestra, Seongnam Philharmonic (Korea), Bergen (Norway), Victoria (Canada), and NCPA (China) Symphonies; and at venues including the Walt Disney Concert Hall, Grieg Hall (Norway), and the mainstage of Carnegie Hall.

Albright’s compositions and improvisations have been likened to “the great Romantic-era composer-pianists” by Classical Source and have been praised as “thrilling” by the DC Metro Theatre Arts.  The Philadelphia Inquirer raved that he “brought the art of classical-music improvisation to a new level.”  The Boston Musical Intelligencer wrote simply that “Albright is a master of improvisation.”

A firm believer in education, Albright founded the Charlie Albright Scholarship and Charlie Albright Piano in collaboration with the Centralia College Foundation in his hometown. The Scholarship provides financial aid to music students, and money was raised to purchase and maintain a new 9-foot Steinway Piano for the college’s Corbet Hall.

Albright graduated as the first classical pianist in the Harvard/NEC Joint Program and received his Artist Diploma from the Juilliard School, having studied with Nancy Adsit, Wha-Kyung Byun, and Yoheved Kaplinsky. Albright is an official Steinway Artist. For the latest information, please visit CharlieAlbright.com, Youtube.com/CharlieAlbrightPianist, Facebook.com/CharlieAlbrightPianist, and Instagram (@CharlieAlbrightPianist).