Music Professors Named Finalists for The American Prize
07/10/2023
By Brett Buckner
A pair of JSU music professors continue to make a name for themselves on the national stage. Dr. Rachel Park, assistant professor of piano, and Dr. Eliezer Yanson, Jr., director of choral activities, were both recently named finalists for The American Prize in separate categories.
Dr. Park is among the finalists for The American Prize in the professional division of solo piano performance, while Dr. Yanson is a finalist in three categories - the college/university division for conducting, choral performance with the JSU Chamber Singers and choral performance with the JSU A Capella Choir.
The American Prize National Nonprofit Competition is the nation's most comprehensive series of contests in the performing arts. Founded in 2010, the program is designed to recognize the best performing artists, directors, ensembles and composers in the country at the professional, college, university, community and high school levels. It is based on submitted recordings.
Dr. Park joined the JSU faculty in 2018 as assistant professor of piano. Throughout her career, she has given more than 1,000 concerts and recitals with various soloists, ensembles and orchestras in the US and overseas. This includes achieving her life-long dream of performing at the famed Carnegie Hall in New York City in March.
Dr. Yanson arrived at JSU in 2019 as an associate professor of music and the director of choral activities. He conducts the A Cappella Choir, Chamber Singers and Civic Chorale. He has performed at Carnegie Hall three times, mostly recently in March as conductor of JSU’s A Cappella Choir. In 2015, he was named the third prize winner for The American Prize in conducting in the college/university chorus division.