Judith Edberg to perform Wednesday

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Pianist Judith Edberg, emeritus professor of music at the University of Tampa, will perform music by Bach, Scriabin, Koehler, and Liszt in the 10th concert of the Greencastle Summer Classical Music Festival Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in the sanctuary of Gobin Memorial United Methodist Church in Greencastle.

Admission is free, with donations accepted. York Chrysler Jeep Dodge of Greencastle Inc., is the main corporate underwriter for the festival, with additional support from the DePauw School of Music, Arts at DePauw, and Fine Print Books.

Edberg began piano study as a small girl in the Detroit area, where her mother was an active piano teacher. She earned her bachelor's and master's degrees from Wayne State University, studying with Edward Bredshall, Mischa Kottler, and Julius Chajes, and studied in Paris for a summer with pianist Lazzare Levy.

An active recitalist, concerto performer, and chamber music partner in the Detroit area, she moved to Tampa in 1971 where she was soon appointed to the music faculty of the University of Tampa, becoming director of keyboard studies and chair of the music department. In the spring of 1980 she studied music for left hand alone, a particular interest and specialty of hers, with the eminent pianist Leon Fleisher.

She has appeared as concerto soloist with the Royal Oak Symphony, the Wayne State University Orchestra, the Detroit Jewish Community Center Orchestra, the University of Tampa Orchestra and Concert Band, the Tampa Bay Chamber Orchestra, and the Aurora Orchestra in Colorado. The Detroit Free Press wrote she "played with freshness and enthusiasm." The Tampa Tribune has praised her "pointed dramatic playing" and the St. Petersburg Times wrote that she played "in a forceful, no-nonsense way that cut through the orchestral texture with striking effect."

Edberg and her husband moved to Greencastle in the fall of 2007. She's enthusiastic about the charms of Putnam County.

"I can't imagine a more beautiful area," she says, "And we just love living here. I especially enjoy attending concerts at DePauw during the academic year and at Gobin during the summer."

Edberg loves walking in the DePauw Nature Park, and is an avid gardener.

"It's a thrill to have my mother performing in the festival," says DePauw music professor Eric Edberg, the Festival's artistic director. "She has such a beautiful tone and sense of melodic line, and has selected a fascinating program. And it's wonderful that in the festival we are hearing not only a number of young artists in the early stages of their careers, but also some excellent musicians, such as my mother and clarinetist-saxophonist Gareth Guest, who performed earlier this summer, who have retired from their full-time positions and continue to practice hours each day and to perform beautifully."

The festival presents concerts every Wednesday evening at 7:30 p.m. through Aug. 20. Upcoming concerts include cellist Eric Edberg and pianist Nariaki Sugiura on July 30, and Indianapolis Symphony violinist Jayna Park and pianist Eugenio Urrutia-Borlando on Aug. 6.

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