Japanese-born Pianist, VSU Flutist Partner for Performance

VALDOSTA -- Born and raised in Tokyo, Japan, Dr. Joshua Kelley Pifer, pianist, made his debut playing Joseph Haydn’s “Concerto in A Major” with the Kotani Chamber Ensemble.

At 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 7, in Valdosta State University’s Whitehead Auditorium, Pifer will perform with Dr. Elizabeth Goode, flutist. The concert is free of charge and open to the public. The program features music by Samuel Barber, Lukas Foss, John Corigliano, Domenico Scarlatti, and Otar Taktakishvili.

“Josh is a fantastic pianist,” said Goode, professor of flute and director of the Flute Choir and Flute Quartet at VSU and principal flutist with the Valdosta Symphony Orchestra and Albany Symphony Orchestra.

Pifer and Goode have worked together for the past two summers at the Orfeo Music Festival in Vipiteno, Italy, where they both serve as faculty members.

“He and I enjoyed performing together so much that we decided to do exchange recitals at each other’s universities,” she added.

Pifer and Goode will perform at Auburn University, where he is a lecturer of piano, on Tuesday, Oct. 16.

Pifer’s solo and collaborative career has taken him to four continents. College- and graduate-level pianists who have suffered injuries from excessive tension in their playing and need help learning to play with much more individualistic freedom and ease regularly seek him out. He is a founding member of the Oto Trio and has commissioned and premiered works by 21st Century composers Andre Cormier, Justin Aftab, Gary Shields, Douglas Townsend, Andrea Clearfield. He is an advocate for the piano music of Alexander Tcherepnin. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Wittenberg University in Ohio, a master’s degree from Miami University, also in Ohio, and a doctorate from the University of Southern California.

Goode holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Tennessee and master’s and doctorate degrees from Yale University in Connecticut.

VSU’s Department of Music is a fully accredited member of the National Association of Schools of Music. It boasts a faculty of active performers, scholars, conductors, clinicians, and adjudicators throughout the region.

The Department of Music presents over 200 musical performances for the public each year.

Contact Dr. Elizabeth Goode at (229) 259-2070 or egoode@valdosta.edu to learn more.

On the Web:
www.valdosta.edu/music
www.orfeomusicfestival.com