McDuffie Center Appoints Pridgen Distinguished Artist and Piano Chair

December 15, 2008

The Robert McDuffie Center for Strings is pleased to announce the appointment of Elizabeth Pridgen as Distinguished Artist and Piano Chair of the Center.

Praised for her “big piano presence” (American Record Guide), Elizabeth Pridgen has distinguished herself as a soloist and chamber musician. Recent concerts include appearances at Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall, the Tilles Center on Long Island, Spivey Hall in Atlanta, and the “Rising Stars Series” at the Ravinia Festival. Ms. Pridgen has also performed at Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, and the Kosciuszko Foundation, and in recitals in Washington D.C., Aruba, Curaçao, and throughout the Southeast. She has appeared as soloist with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, Rome Symphony Orchestra, and Dekalb Symphony Orchestra. For seven consecutive seasons she has been a featured performer at the Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival.

This summer, in addition to Amelia Island, she will be performing at the Rome Chamber Festival in Rome, Italy, the Strings Music Festival in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, and the Madison Chamber Music Festival in Madison, Georgia. Ms. Pridgen collaborates regularly with Elmar Oliveira, Robert McDuffie, Andres Diaz, the Diaz String Trio, and the American String Quartet. She has also performed with Lynn Harrell, Hilary Hahn, Sarah Chang, Rachel Barton Pine, and Mark O’Connor. Ms. Pridgen is a member of the newly founded Trio RPM with violinist Amy Schwartz Moretti, Director of the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings, and Christopher Rex, Principal Cellist of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Pridgen is a Distinguished Artist and Piano Chair at the McDuffie Center for Strings at Mercer University.

Ms. Pridgen received her Master of Music degree at the Juilliard School where she studied with Joseph Kalichstein. She earned her bachelor’s degree at the Peabody Conservatory of Music as a student of Ann Schein. Other teachers include Claude Frank, Pamela Frank, Leon Fleisher, and Ursula Oppens. Ms. Pridgen spent two summers at the Tanglewood Music Center where she was awarded the piano prize and selected to perform with Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble and the Mark Morris Dance Group at Jacob’s Pillow. She has also been a participant at the Aspen Music Festival, International Musicians’ Seminar in Prussia Cove, England, and the American Conservatory in Fontainebleau, France. A native of Atlanta, Georgia, Ms. Pridgen currently resides in New York City.