Center Stage Community Theatre

American Pianists Association has been supporting aspiring young artists for over 25 years. Our unique Fellowships, both classical and jazz, offer significant opportunities for American pianists, ages 18-30, to advance their careers. Each Fellowship is valued at over $75, 000 including cash awards, fees, publicity and recording opportunities. We are proud of our assistance and innovative competition formats. All of our competition events are produced as public recitals and feature the Finalists in a variety of settings. We greatly value the individual artistic sensibilities of each pianist, very much wish to nurture such individuality and do not impose any repertoire requirements during our competitions other than those necessary for the different genres. It is our intent to focus on artistic expression and not on competitive prowess. Further, we make an effort to tailor our career assistance to suit the particular needs of the Fellow, offering an array of opportunities appropriate to the Fellow's current career development and status. We are not a management agency as such and do not try to be. Rather, we strive to be the bridge between professional training and a full-fledged professional career. Of particular interest, we are pleased to announce that for our 2006 Classical Fellows, we have a collaborative agreement with Harmonia Mundi to produce a series of solo recordings, and with Joel Chriss & Co of New York City to provide concert and club engagements for our 2007 Jazz Fellow for two years.In addition to professional assistance, we offer opportunities for pedagogical growth through our educational and community outreach initiative called Concerto Curriculum. In this program, our Fellows perform in diverse community settings ranging from public and private schools to multi-service centers and retirement villages. Informal and often interactive in nature, these concerts give our Fellows the chance to improve their communication skills in several ways and at the same time bring a high level of music-making to non-traditional venues. These sessions are offered at no cost to the sponsoring venue, and we will provide an excellent piano if one is not available.I am inspired on a daily basis by the work of our young American artists. I welcome you to the thrilling world of American Pianists Association Sincerely,Joel Harrison has been Artistic Director of the APA since 2001. He was previously a faculty member at Davidson College in North Carolina and at Mississippi State University, where he was also director of the Mississippi Piano Showcase and a Touring Artist for the Mississippi Arts Commission. He has played to critical success on two occasions at Weill Hall of Carnegie Hall and been in residence at the Prague Conservatory of Music. He holds degrees from the University of North Carolina, Indiana University and Northwestern University, in addition to studies in Switzerland, Italy and Austria. Dr. Harrison has served on local, regional and national arts committees and boards, been a jury member for international piano competitions, and toured internationally in Asia, the Middle East and Northern Africa with the Fellows in 2003 on a U. S. State Department grant.