Chicago-Based Susan Merdinger Wins The American Prize in Piano’s Lorin Hollander Award

Susan Merdinger of Highland Park, Illinois is the winner of The American Prize in Piano, 2021, The Lorin Hollander Award, in the professional piano concerto division. Susan was selected from applications reviewed recently from all across the United States.

The Lorin Hollander Award celebrates the artistry of one of the greatest pianists of his generation. Lorin Hollander has appeared as guest soloist with virtually every major symphony orchestra in the world and is a veteran of over 2,500 performances across the globe. The American Prize re-named the award for Piano Concerto Performance in his honor.

The official announcement is at https://theamericanprize.blogspot.com/2021/05/winners-american-prize-in-piano.html.

Steinway Artist Susan Merdinger has been internationally acclaimed for her performances, and is particularly noted for her recordings of Schumann, Brahms, and Beethoven. Among her many honors, Merdinger is an Honored Artist of The American Prize, (having won several top prizes in the professional divisions of the Chamber Music, Piano Concerto and American Music categories), a two-time First Prize Winner of the Bradshaw and Buono International Piano Competition in Professional Solo and Duo Piano, two-time Gold Medalist of the Global Music Awards, Winner of the Dewar’s Young Artists Award in Music, Winner of the Artists International Young Musicians Competition.

Performing her sold-out solo recital debut in Carnegie Recital Hall at age twenty-four, Merdinger has continued to grace the stages of some of the world’s best concert halls. She has appeared as soloist with professional orchestras such as the Chicago Philharmonic, the State Symphony Orchestra of Mexico and the Northbrook Symphony and has been a frequent Visiting Artist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Chamber Music Series. Merdinger’s live performances and recordings have been broadcast worldwide on WQXR, WFMT, BRT-3 (Belgian National Radio), NPR and BBC Television. Merdinger received her formal education at Yale University, the Yale School of Music, and the Manhattan School of Music. She is on the Faculty of Summit Music Festival in New York, and is Founder and Artistic Director of Sheridan Music Studio, where she curates two distinguished concert series, Music with a View and Blue Skies Concerts. She also serves as an Artistic Advisor to IN.LIVE. Her website is at https://www.susanmerdingerpianist.com/.

The American Prize National Nonprofit Competitions in the Performing Arts is the nation's most comprehensive series of non-profit competitions in the musical and theater arts, unique in scope and structure, designed to recognize and reward the best performing artists, ensembles and composers in the United States based on submitted recordings. The American Prize was founded in 2009 and is awarded annually in many areas of the performing arts. The American Prize is administered by Hat City Music Theater, Inc., a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization based in Danbury, CT. Additional information about the competitions on their website: www.theamericanprize.org.

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