Biography
After earning her master's degree from the Juilliard School of Music, Oppens won the Young Concert Artists International Auditions in 1968. This win led to her New York City debut at Carnegie Hall in 1969. That same year, she took first prize at the Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition. In 1971, Oppens co-founded the contemporary music ensemble Speculum Musicae. She was one of the first pianists to test the boundaries of traditional concert programming, by performing both classics and contemporary pieces. One of the foremost champions of new music, several modern composers praise her for her invaluable encouragement and advice in composition, and her illumination of their music.
In 2008, Oppens took up her new post as Distinguished Professor of Music at the Conservatory of Music at Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate Center in New York City. From 1994 through the end of the 2007/2008 academic year, she served as John Evans Distinguished Professor of Music at Northwestern University.
Read more about this topic: Ursula Oppens
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