Frederick Weldy - Bio »

Frederick Weldy

Pianist Frederick Weldy has performed to wide acclaim throughout the United States, Europe, and Central America.  The Washington Post praised his “compelling artistry,” while others have described his playing as “sumptuous” (San Francisco Chronicle), “utterly inspired” (San Antonio Express-News), and “sheer elegance” (Kansas City Star). His performances have been broadcast frequently, including National Public Radio and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and he appeared on PBS Television as a prizewinner in the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition.   As a recipient of the Solo Recitalist Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, he appeared at the Phillips Collection in his Washington, D.C. recital debut.

          Mr. Weldy's New York recital debut, as winner of the East and West Artists International Auditions, was at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, and was praised by the New York Times for its balance of “precision, power, and passion.”  Other engagements have included the Merkin Concert Hall in New York City, the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts in Chicago, the Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw, Poland, as well as performances at the White House and for the Dutch Royal Family in The Hague.  He has held the Music at La Gesse Foundation Fellowship at Boulogne-sur-Gesse, France, performed at the Meadowbrook Festival and the Gilmore International Keyboard Festival, and has appeared as guest soloist with the Rochester Philharmonic, the Utah Symphony, and the Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional of Costa Rica, among others.  Recent performances include Strathmore Hall in Washington D.C., the Paderewski Museum in Warsaw, Poland, and in Greece at the Paros International Music Festival.  He has toured as soloist with the Stanford Symphony Orchestra, performing in Southwark Cathedral in London, Oxford University, the Sorbonne in Paris, and in New York City at Carnegie Hall.  Recently Dr. Weldy led a Stanford Overseas Seminar in Moscow and St. Petersburg, performing and lecturing on Russian music.

         Active as a chamber musician and accompanist, Mr. Weldy has performed at numerous colleges and universities throughout the United States, as well as Carnegie, Merkin and Weill Halls in New York City, Jordan Hall in Boston, the Bing Theater at the Los Angeles County Museum, the Seattle Museum of Art, the Cleveland Museum, the Villa Medici in Rome, the Opéra Comique in Paris, and the Place des Arts in Montreal.  He has collaborated with artists such as Jesseye Norman, Paul Groves, Kurt Ollmann and Lorraine Hunt Lieberman, and with soprano Lauren Wagner he has recorded a CD of American art songs and piano works for Channel Classics Records of Amsterdam, hailed by the Dutch press for the pair’s “effortless artistry.”

         Born on a dairy farm in Wakarusa, Indiana, Mr. Weldy received the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Michigan, where he studied with Charles Fisher, Eugene Bossart, and Martin Katz.  He was on the faculties of the Harlem School for the Arts in New York City, the National Music Camp at Interlochen, Michigan, and has taught since 1991 at Stanford University.