Bronika Kushkuley Short Bio Bronika Kushkuley is the first prize winner of three international young artist piano competitions including the International Young Pianists Competition in Senigallia, Italy in 1997 where she competed with 46 pianists under the age sixteen from 20 countries. In February 2002, at the age of 14, Bronika passed the entrance auditions to the New England Conservatory of music with the highest possible score but delayed entrance for a year and became a freshman in 2003. Bronika is the winner of two concerto competitions and has performed with several orchestras. Her appearances with orchestras include a performance of Saint-Saens piano concerto No.2 with Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops, as well as performances with the New England Philharmonic (Richard Pittman, Conductor), New England Conservatory Youth Philharmonic Orchestra (Benjamin Zander, conductor), and others. A part of Bronika's May 2000 NEC recital was broadcast by National Public Radio and her recordings were featured on Boston Classical Radio Station (WCRB) in “The Great Young Ladies of Classical.” In June 2001 she performed in Copley Square as part of WCRB’s concert series. Bronika has already established herself as a seasoned concert artist, having performed in numerous piano recitals in Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Hawaii, Washington D.C., Germany, Austria, Italy, Holland, France and Switzerland, including performances at Weil Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Teatro Marcello (Rome), PAC-Padiglione d’Arte Contemporanea (Milan), Jordan Hall, Symphony Hall and Avery Fisher Hall (with Disney Young Musicians Symphony Orchestra). Bronika published her first solo CD when she was 10 years old. This CD was recently reprinted on Eroica Classical Recording label. Her second and third CDs were published by the same label in 2001 and 2007. Bronika's recordings have received excellent reviews from visitors at Amazon.com. Competitions and awards First prize High School Achievement award by Harvard Musical Association, 2002 Winner of the NEC Preparatory School Concerto Competition, 2000 Winner of the New England Philharmonic Young Artist Concerto Competition, 2000 The Janet Gates Peckham International Prize for excellence in the Arts, 1998 Winner of the Manchester Young Artists competition, 1998 Winner of the Competition of students of members of "Russian American Music Teachers Association", 1998, 1999 First prize at the International Young Pianists Competition in Senigallia, Italy for pianists up to 16 years old; and a Grand prize among young pianists up to 19 years old as a participant with highest score. Awarded concert engagements in Japan and Italy, 1997 Massachusetts Piano Teachers Association Piano Competition – first prize, 1996 International Young Artists Piano Competition in Washington DC – first prize in 1995 and 1997 Recordings Bronika Kushkuley, Live, 2007 on Eroica Classical Recordings label Bronika Kushkuley, In Concert, 2001 on Eroica Classical Recordings label Bronika Kushkuley, Piano, 1998 on Eroica Classical Recordings label Winners of International Young Artists Competition in Senigallia, 1997 Major Solo Recitals First and Second Church of Boston, April 2003 and December 2003 Boston’s Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum, March and November 2002 Harvard Musical Association, November 2002 Middlesex District Medical Society Hall, November 2001, February 2003 Copley Square Recital sponsored by WCRB - Boston Classical Radio Station, June 2001 Lincoln Lab, MIT Noon Time Concert Series, July 1999, June 2000 and June 2001 Redwood Library , Newport RI, June, 2001 New England Conservatory, Williams Hall, May, 2000 and 2001 University of Hawaii Orvis Hall, March 1988 and September 2000 Boston University School of Management Auditorium as a part of celebration of 150th anniversary of Boston University School of Medicine, October 1998 Teatro Marcello in Rome as a part of the "Festival Musicale delle Nazioni" , August 1998 Amersfoort, Holland , July 1998 Longi School of Music Edward Pickman Hall, May, 1988 WGBH Classical Music Live with Ron Della Chiesa, May, 1998 MIT Killian Hall, February, 1998 Piano concerto recitals Beethoven Piano Concerto No 2 with New England Conservatory Youth Philharmonic Orchestra, Benjamin Zander, conductor, Jordan Hall, October and December, 2003 Beethoven Concerto No 1 with Concord Orchestra, Richard Pittman, conductor (twice in October 2002) Saint-Saens Piano Concerto No 2 with Boston Pops, Keith Lockhart conductor (twice in June 2002 at Boston Symphony Hall). Saent-Sans Piano Concerto No 2 with Indian Hill Symphony Orchestra, Bruce Hangen conductor, April 2002 Mendelssohn Concerto in A Minor for Piano and String Orchestra - with "NEC at Walnut School" Chamber Orchestra, Lynn Chang, Concertmaster, as part of the New England Conservatory’s "A feast of Music", Grand Ballroom, Fairmont Copley Plaza, October, 2001 Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 2 - with NEC Youth Symphony Orchestra, Aaron Kula, Conductor, Jordan Hall, June, 2001 J. S. Bach Concerto No 1 in D Minor - with New England Philharmonic, Richard Pittman, Conductor, Tsai Performance Center, December, 2000 Major Concerts participation, including chamber music performances: Piano & violin recital at the Museum of Contemporary Art (PAC-Padiglione d’Arte Contemporanea), Milan, Italy, August 2003 Participated in recitals at the Chamber Music Interpretation Seminar, Villar Pellice, Italy, July - August 2003 Participated in the concert of “Societa Lirico Concertistica” at Santa Margherita Ligure, Italy, July 2003 Participated in the radio taping of the “From the Top” concert, Jordan Hall, January 2002 Boston University Tanglewood Institute, August 2001 Verbier Festival , Switzerland, July 1999 International Music Festival de Colmar, France, July 1999 Performed with Disney Young Musicians Symphony Orchestra in Avery Fisher Hall, New York on June 30, 1999 In May 22, 1999 Bronika participated in a “Bank Boston Celebrity Series” gala concert “Celebrating Brandeis University at Fifty and Gala Benefit for the Sacharov archives”. Bronika shared the stage with renowned cellist-conductor Mstislav Rostropovich. "Young Virtuosos" concerts at Weil Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in 1998 and 1999 Soesterberg International Music Festival, Holland, 1998 Winners recital of the Manchester Young Artists competition in University of Connecticut, 1998 Winners recital of the international competition at Teatro La Fenice, Senigallia, Italy, 1997 Winners recitals of the International Young Artists Piano Competition in Washington DC (Kennedy Center) in 1995, 1997 Buffalo TV channel 5 in 1995 "Summit Music Festival", Tarrytown NY in 1994, 1995, 1996 and 1997 Numerous local concerts in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, since 1994 Some Reviews Boston Herald correspondent T.J. Medrek wrote the following on Monday, October 27, 2003 in a article entitled “Young musicians shine at Jordan Hall centennial” The third and final formal concert celebrating the 100th birthday of New England Conservatory's Jordan Hall focused on the conservatory's preparatory, pre-college division. <...> A nod to tradition came with a single movement of Beethoven's Second Piano Concerto featuring a dazzling young soloist, 16-year-old Bronika Kushkuley. The clear, bright, passionate playing that came from this tiny girl draped in fuchsia was nothing short of astonishing. Kushkuley and this orchestra play the complete piece at Jordan Hall on Dec. 18. Save the date. Adrian Jack reviewed Bronika’s first two CDs for the BBC Music Magazine. He gave both CDs five stars for performance, and wrote: “Child prodigies have always existed, and been exploited. Perhaps it happens less often today than at earlier times. Mark Ehrenfried, recorded just before he turned ten, does sound like a child, because you can tell his hands are small and his muscular control not yet fully developed. Yet he can be amazingly mature in his knowing way of shaping a melody. But this ‘musicality’ isn’t consistent, so that one suspects that while the boy has been exceptionally well taught, he can’t quite assimilate it all…” “… With the American Bronika Kushkuley, I soon forgot I was listening to a child. The first disc was recorded when she was ten, and the second was taken at live recitals she gave at the ages of 12 and (just) 13.… Schumann’s Abegg Variations are exquisitely done: not always literally, though what matters is that the girl makes them her own. She is deliciously seductive in Tchaikovsky’s Lullaby arranged by Rachmaninoff, and she is a good Bach player, too, which is confirmed on the second disc…” Adrian Jack Boston Globe correspondent Richard Buell wrote about Bronika in his review of her concert (Boston Globe, May 27, 1998) that: “... the sheer fluency, accuracy, variety of tone, and articulation she could call upon was scarcely to be believed. That she seemed to be offering a real, even highly personal, interpretation of everything she played was even more remarkable”. He described the performance of Sarabande movement of Bach’s G Minor English Suite (BVW 808) as “Soulful and inward in emotion, subtly flexible as to phrasing and tempo, the performance spoke familiarly of matters that no 10-year-old – not even 10-year-old Albert Schweitzer – could know of”. Richard Buell concluded his review of the concert with the following remark: “... the performances of Haydn’s F-Major Sonata, the Ravel “Oiseaux tristes”, Schumann’s Abegg Variations, not to mention the shorter gee-whiz pieces, were ones that many an adult professional wouldn't disown”. John Bell Young, a well-known pianist and musical critic, wrote about Bronika (posted on the Internet on 1/15/2000): “I had a chance to hear the 12 year old --or perhaps 13 -- Bronika Kushkuley who plays Chopin, Bach and Rachmaninoff on MP3. . She is exceptionally gifted, and her playing is extraordinarily expressive, intelligent, rich and savvy for one so young. In fact, it is exceptionally expressive, intelligent, rich and savvy for a pianist of any age. She sports a strong musical profile, and I don't think it would be big stretch to say that, if she continues in this direction, she'll make quite a mark indeed...". Professor Luigi Mostacci, the head of the Piano Department of the Bologna Conservatory (Italy) described Bronika as: "Very young pianist who plays like an adult concert performer/soloist with intelligence and a fabulous technique for such a young player. Brilliant, expressive interpreter of all styles from Bach to Schumann..." "She’s absolutely a wonderful musician ... She’s brought something from another life", said concert pianist Oxana Yablonskaya, Professor at the Juilliard School of Music (Boston Globe, January 11, 1998). Some listener reviews can be found on Amazon.com .