PIANIST
Through his kaleidoscopic career as a pianist, conductor, educator, and curator of memorable musical moments, Awadagin Pratt shines a light on voices of the past and present, amplifies the diverse talents of today’s brightest creative minds, and paves the way for a new generation of inventive musical artists.
Since winning the Naumburg International Piano Competition in 1992 and receiving a 1994 Avery Fisher Career Grant, Pratt has received acclaim for delivering “forceful, imaginative, and precisely tinted” performances (The Washington Post) and been hailed as “one of the great and distinctive American pianists and conductors of our time” (WGBH). He has appeared at addresses as familiar as 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue (at the invitation of the Clinton and Obama administrations) and Sesame Street (at the invitation of Big Bird): He has performed with the Boston and Chicago Symphony Orchestras, the New York Philharmonic, and many others; in solo recitals at the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, and Lincoln Center; and in chamber music collaborations with cellist Zuill Bailey, pianist Simone Dinnerstein, and the Harlem and St. Lawrence String Quartets. His 2023 recording, Stillpoint, explores the truth and beauty in T.S. Eliot’s Four Quartets through new works byTyshawn Sorey, Paola Prestini, Peteris Vasks, Jessie Montgomery, Jonathan Bailey Holland, Alvin Singleton, and Judd Greenstein.
He became principal conductor of the Miami Valley Symphony Orchestra in the 2023/24 season, and he has conducted the Chamber Orchestra of Pittsburgh, Georgian Philharmonic Orchestra (Tbilisi), and Bang on a Can at the Brooklyn Academy of-Music. He made his operatic debut leading Porgy and Bess with the Greensboro Opera (North Carolina).
In response to the murder of George Floyd, Pratt created a podcast that evolved into a multimedia musical experience. Performed primarily on college campuses across the U.S., Awadagin Pratt: Black in America, fuses music of Bach, Messiaen, and Liszt with still and moving pictures by filmmaker Alrick Brown and narration in which Pratt chronicles his life – from his time as a music student at the Peabody Conservatory through his ascent to international acclaim – through graphic accounts of numerous police stops and arrests he experienced for Driving While Black. In 2023, a documentary version, directed by Michelle Bauer Carpenter, was screened at film festivals nationwide.
Pratt’s commitment to the next generation of pianists is evidenced by his work as founding director of the Next Generation Festival, the Art of the Piano Foundation, and the Nina Simone Piano Competition, a new biennial competition that celebrates diversity in classical music.
He served as professor and artist in residence at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music for two decades and is now professor of piano at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
May 2025. Please discard any previously dated materials.
CONDUCTOR
Awadagin Pratt is an acclaimed conductor, pianist, and educator whose career spans more than three decades of musical leadership, performance and curation of memorable musical moments. Through this kaleidoscopic career he shines a light on voices of the past and present, amplifies the diverse talents of today’s brightest creative minds, and paves the way for a new generation of inventive musical artists.
Currently Principal Conductor of the Miami Valley Symphony Orchestra in Dayton, Ohio, Pratt is recognized for his dynamic musicality, collaborative approach, and stylistic range across symphonic, operatic, and contemporary repertoire.
Pratt has led orchestras throughout the U.S. and internationally, including the Tokyo City Philharmonic, Georgian Philharmonic Orchestra (Tbilisi), Winston-Salem Symphony, Chamber Orchestra of Pittsburgh, Toledo Symphony, Santa Fe Symphony, and Eastern Music Festival. His programming spans Beethoven, Brahms, Sibelius, Mahler, and Tchaikovsky to modern composers such as Jessie Montgomery, Christophe Chagnard, Arvo Pärt, and Ornette Coleman.
Pratt’s 2022 operatic conducting debut with Porgy and Bess at Greensboro Opera drew critical praise. OperaWire wrote that he “conducted Greensboro Opera Orchestra with great care,” noting his engagement with the singers and the “level of individuality” he brought to each piece and Voix des Arts praised his “deft handling of the jazz rhythms that frolic in Gershwin’s music. In concert repertoire, Pratt has continued to win praise for his clarity and drive on the podium. Following his 2024 performance of Beethoven’s Coriolan Overture and Symphony No. 8 with the Chamber Orchestra of Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette described his interpretation as “energetic and cohesive.”
Since 2023, Pratt has led the Miami Valley Symphony Orchestra through an ambitious and wide-ranging season of performances, including The Sound of Music, Notes of Love, holiday concerts with the Gem City Ballet, and major symphonic works by Beethoven, Brahms, Mahler, and Pärt. His programming bridges the traditional and the modern with depth and accessibility.
His conducting education began at the University of Illinois and continued at the Peabody Conservatory of Music under Frederik Prausnitz. He further honed his craft through study with Gunther Schuller; at the National Conducting Institute under Leonard Slatkin, where he led the National Symphony Orchestra; and through private mentorship with Lorin Maazel for three years.
An award-winning concert pianist, Pratt also performs as a soloist-conductor, having appeared in that dual role for works by Mozart and Beethoven in the U.S., Europe, and Asia.
Since winning the Naumburg International Piano Competition in 1992 and receiving a 1994 Avery Fisher Career Grant, Pratt has received acclaim for delivering “forceful, imaginative, and precisely tinted” performances (The Washington Post) and been hailed as “one of the great and distinctive American pianists and conductors of our time” (WGBH). He has appeared at addresses as familiar as 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue (at the invitation of the Clinton and Obama administrations) and Sesame Street (at the invitation of Big Bird): He has performed with the Boston and Chicago Symphony Orchestras, the New York Philharmonic, and many others; in solo recitals at the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, and Lincoln Center; and in chamber music collaborations with cellist Zuill Bailey, pianist Simone Dinnerstein, and the Harlem and St. Lawrence String Quartets. His 2023 recording, Stillpoint, explores the truth and beauty in T.S. Eliot’s Four Quartets through new works byTyshawn Sorey, Paola Prestini, Peteris Vasks, Jessie Montgomery, Jonathan Bailey Holland, Alvin Singleton, and Judd Greenstein.
He served as professor and artist in residence at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music for two decades and is now professor of piano at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
August 2025. Please discard any previously dated materials.
PHOTOS
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