Piano Day

Hosted by NWU piano faculty members Feifei Jiang, DMA and Peter Jiang, DMA, this event brings together talented high school and NWU pianists with special guest and Steinway artist Jackson Berkey.

The events listed below are free and open to the public.

10 a.m.–noon High School Piano Master Class with Feifei Jiang, DMA and Peter Jiang, DMA
1–3 p.m. NWU piano student master class with special guest and Steinway Artist Jackson Berkey
3–5 p.m. Piano students and NWU faculty concert

Jackson Berkey

Jackson Berkey’s published catalog offers over 400 titles encompassing choral, solo vocal and instrumental, chamber ensemble, band and orchestral works, as well as concerti and works for chorus and orchestra. 

Berkey’s commissions have premiered on concert stages across the United States and abroad by professional musicians and children’s choirs. He has also had five choir/orchestra premieres at Carnegie Hall in New York. Past premières include his Piano Concerto, Organ Concerto, Concerto for Harp and Chamber Orchestra, and Suite for Two Pianos. 

His national awards and honors include first prize in the New Music for Young Ensembles Composition Contest in New York City, first prize at the Alienor Harpsichord Competition in Hilton Head (NC), and award-winning video scores.

Also known nationally as a pianist and recording artist, Jackson played and recorded 38 years as featured keyboardist with Mannheim Steamroller. In the classical world, his recordings for American Gramophone and SDG Records continue to elicit rave reviews.

In another grand endeavor, Jackson composed 24 Nocturnes, one in each key. These works show great respect and connections to Stravinsky, Rachmaninoff, Chopin, Debussy, Barber, and Copland. As a “21st Century Romantic” Berkey has developed his own writing style with beautiful and soaring melodies, exciting and driving rhythms, and lush vertical sonorities. His newest Nocturnes and O Magnum Mysterium for choir and orchestra, reveal his deep maturity as pianist and consummate composer.

Visit www.berkey.com to see the complete catalog of Berkey compositions and recordings.