Amaury Morales

Piano

Regarded as “an authority in the classical music world (Ciudad Corazón)” and “a vigorous, energetic performer (Toplicke Vesti)” pianist Amaury Morales has performed widely in major venues of Latin America, the United States, Europe and Asia; Amaury has been praised as “a mixture of maturity and youth that reveals an underlying serenity (La Información).” For his methodical choice of repertoire, his performances of Latin-American music have earned him a reputation of an advocate of the region’s classical music: “It was really refreshing to hear a completely different, unconventional Latin rhythm performed by the pianist from this territory who has been awarded many times (Toplicke Vesti, Serbia).” The recipient of several awards, Amaury was awarded for three consecutive years with the Dr. Mark H Cooley scholarship award for outstanding achievement, and has received recognition in competitions such as 3rd place in the Latin American piano festival (2001), 2nd Place in the Manuel Rueda piano competition (2003), 2nd place in the American Protegé (2011) international competition and 1st place in the Silverman chamber music competition (2009). Amaury has collaborated with artists such as Andrea Bocelli, Renée Fleming, and Pia Toscano. Frequent orchestra appearances include the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra, Wheeling Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Pittsburgh, and the Carnegie Mellon Philharmonic.

Born in the Dominican Republic, Amaury started his piano studies at the Institute of Culture and Arts in the city of Santiago. He studied piano with Dr. Hilda Melis, and music theory with Mercedes Machín. He received his Bachelor’s degree at the Boston Conservatory as a student of Max Levinson, and earned his Master’s Degree at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, where he studied with Dr. Sergey Schepkin. Amaury furthered his artistic education with legendary German pianist Klaus Schilde as an artist in residence of pianosummer (Vranje) festival in Serbia. A devoted educator, Amaury has given masterclasses in Latin America, Istanbul, Serbia, Singapore, and the United States, his students have won several local and international piano competitions. Amaury is the Chair of the Piano Department at the Pittsburgh Music Academy, he also works in the music and drama departments at Carnegie Mellon University.

Edward Leonard 

Conductor

Edward Leonard has established an outstanding reputation for his versatility and

interpretation of an extensive repertoire. As founder and Music Director of The

Chamber Orchestra of Pittsburgh, he has led the organization to substantial artistic

growth since its creation in 2014. His comfort in diverse repertoire results in a

conducting prowess and artistic command that spans the centuries.