professor and chair, Department of Music and Performing Arts, 308.865.8118
Piano virtuoso and prize-winning educator Dr. William Westney will give his well-known “Un-Master Class” and present a recital in conjunction with the annual Spring Piano Workshop at the University of Nebraska at Kearney on Saturday, April 1.
Beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday, Dr. Westney will teach his “Un-Master Class” performance workshop, which the New York Times has described as “fascinating.”
According to UNK Music and Performing Arts Department Chair Dr. Valerie Cisler, Dr. Westney’s “Un-Master Class” is a highly coveted presentation. Among the institutions that have hosted Dr. Westney’s workshop are the Peabody Conservatory, Kennedy Center, Royal College of Music in London and Juilliard School of Music.
The recital, which will feature Dr. Westney performing solo arrangements, will begin at 2 p.m. in the UNK Recital Hall.
Dr. Westney currently holds two endowed positions, the Paul Whitfield Horn Distinguished Professor and the Browning Artist-in-Residence, at Texas Tech University. He also has received the Yale School of Music Alumni Association’s prestigious “Certificate of Merit” and was selected in 2005 for the Council of International Exchange of Scholars “Senior Specialist” program, which is a government-sponsored program that sends professors around the world for academic residencies.
Dr. Westney received a bachelor’s degree from Queens College in New York and then went on to earn his master’s and the doctorate in performance from Yale University with honors.
During his time as a Fulbright Scholar in Italy, he was the only American winner in auditions held by Radiotelevisione Italiana.
New York’s Lincoln Center, the National Gallery and Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., and St. John’s Smith Square in London are just a few of the places where Dr. Westney has performed.
Further, his recorded work has also received critical acclaim. Newsweek magazine selected his recording of Leo Ornstein’s works as one of its “Ten Best American Music Recordings” of 1976.
