http://rasavitkauskaite.com

Rasa Vitkauskaite, piano rv@rasavitkauskate.com

Hailed for “artistry of poetic and observant sensitivity” (Gramophone), internationally acclaimed pianist Rasa Vitkauskaite released her debut solo CD Reflections on Ongaku Records in 2014, featuring works by Beethoven, Ravel, Guastavino and Liebermann. Fanfare Magazine highlighted the release on its cover, praising her “scintillating pianism” and dubbing her “a Beethoven interpreter of penetrating insight.” Last season featured Ms. Vitkauskaite's debut recording as soloist with orchestra performing Liszt/Weber Polonaise brillante recorded at the Hungarian National Radio.

Winner of the Grand Prix at the Mendelssohn Cup Piano Competition in Italy, Rasa Vitkauskaite has won top prizes at numerous prestigious international piano competitions including First Prizes at Les Rencontres Internationales des Jeunes Pianistes (Belgium), the competition in Taurisano (Italy), and the Rubinstein Piano Competition (Paris). Other awards include the Westmont Fellowship at the Montecito International Music Festival in Santa Barbara, California, and a Kathryn Wasserman Davis $10,000 grant supporting a tour of Israel promoting peace. Ms. Vitkauskaite has also won top prizes at six national competitions in her native country of Lithuania. Next season will include the release of her debut concerto CD featuring Mozart’s Concerto No. 20 in D Minor, K. 466 and Beethoven’s Concerto No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 37 with the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra. Recent recital tours have taken Ms. Vitkauskaite to China, South Korea, Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Portugal, Hungary, and across the United States. Her solo engagements include the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra, Kaunas, Latvian and Kaliningrad Philharmonic orchestras, I Solisti di Perugia, and the Boston Conservatory Orchestra. She has appeared at festivals in Assisi (Italy), Madrid (Spain), Mexico City, Caracas (Venezuela), Taiyuan (China), Porto (Portugal), and Moscow (Russia). An avid chamber musician, Ms. Vitkauskaite performs regularly with world-renowned clarinetist Jonathan Cohler. MusicWeb International praised her as “a master” on the duo’s 2014 release of American Tribute (in honor of the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing on April 15, 2013), and as “a brilliant and sympathetic partner” on their 2013 release Romanza, featuring works by Schumann, Prokofiev and Guastavino. American Record Guide singled out her "subtle musicianship and exceptional skill" on Rhapsodie Française, the 2008 debut duo CD with Mr. Cohler. Ms. Vitkauskaite has also collaborated with Tchaikovsky gold medal violinist Ilya Kaler, cellist Julia Bruskin of the Claremont Trio, and long-time Cleveland Orchestra principal clarinetist Franklin Cohen among many others. Ms. Vitkauskaite studied with Jūratė Karosaitė at the National M. K. Čiurlionis School of Arts in Vilnius, Lithuania, from which she graduated with honors. She then won a scholarship to study at the United World College of the Adriatic in Italy, where she studied with Alberto Miodini. Upon graduating, she was awarded the prestigious International Baccalaureate Diploma with highest grades in music. Subsequently, she completed her Bachelors and Masters Degrees at The Boston Conservatory, where she studied with Michael

http://rasavitkauskaite.com

Lewin and won the H. Wilfred Churchill piano scholarship competition both in 2007 and 2008. She also completed a Graduate Performance Diploma under Randall Hodgkinson. In addition to her active performing career, Ms. Vitkauskaite is a dedicated teacher and adjudicator. She has led masterclasses worldwide including, most recently, Ohio University, University of Akron, National University of Rosario in Argentina, Carlos Gomes State Institute in Belém, Brazil, “Ciutat de Xàtiva” International Music Festival in Spain, Longy School of Music of Bard College and New England Conservatory Preparatory program. She has many students both at the Concord Conservatory of Music, where she is on the faculty, and in her private studio. She is also a member of the piano faculty at Youth & Muse International Summer Music Festival at the Boston Conservatory. Ms. Vitkauskaite has adjudicated numerous piano competitions including the Steinway Society Piano Competition, Westfield State University Young Artist Piano Competition and Massachusetts Music Teachers Association Bay State Contest. She also launched a piano program for inner-city children in Boston after winning a $5000 Fellowes Athenaeum Fund grant. Ms. Vitkauskaite is the pianist of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Meiningen Trio.