Event Highlight: Benefit Concert for Local Pianist

Internationally-renowned pianists John and Mina Perry will perform at a concert to benefit one of Mr. Perry’s students Anton Smirnov 6:30 p.m. Saturday at the

Proceeds will help Smirnov, 27, a student at the Colburn School Conservatory of Music (CSCM) in Los Angeles, participate in several international piano competitions. The concert will be cosponsored by the and the Los Angeles Children’s Orchestra—both under the direction of Susan Pascale.

About the Performers

Featured performer and Pasadena resident John Perry has performed internationally with orchestras and chamber groups. He’s a professor of music at the CSCM, and at the USC Thornton School of Music. He is widely regarded as one of the world’s top piano educators, holding master classes around the world.

His wife, Mina, is also a noted pianist on the Colburn faculty, and she maintains a teaching studio is in Pasadena. At the benefit concert, the Perry's will perform Claude Debussy’s ‘Petite Suite for Four Hands.’

Raising Funds

Participation in competitions is important, Smirnov says.  

“Winning and meeting new people is the only way to launch a successful career as a concert pianist,” he explained.

In order to participate, the candidate must send in a recording. He or she may then receive an invitation. But most competitors don’t receive funding.

“You have to raise the money yourself,” Smirnov said.

But there’s a conundrum: "When you prepare for a competition, you need to make everything perfect, so you have to practice for ten hours a day. It’s difficult to raise funds, too.”

About Anton Smirnov

Smirnov, who lives at CSCM, was born in Novosibirsk, Russia. He began studying piano at age 7, and played his first public concert a year later. Since then, he has performed worldwide, more than 300 times. He has already claimed top prizes at competitions in Europe and the United States, and has been featured as a soloist with numerous orchestras. Smirnov moved from Russia to the U.S. in 2006.

Susan Pascale met Smirnov through her daughter, violist ; Anton accompanied Ariana on piano throughout her high school viola career (Ariana was a high school student at the Center for Independent Study in Pasadena; she is now a freshman at the Juilliard school in New York). Anton has also accompanied several aspiring young musicians who study at the South Pasadena Strings Program.  

“Anton is an unusually gifted pianist, who brings so much life to his music,” said Pascale.

“He’s a real inspiration. If money is the thing holding him back from participating in an important competition, and if I can help him raise the money, then I want to do it. We hope other people will feel the same and come to the concert.”

The Competitions

The three 2011 international piano competitions to which Smirnov has been invited are the ‘Ennio Porrino,’ in Cagliari, Italy; the Campillos, in Malaga, Spain; and the San Nicola di Bari, in Bari,
Italy.

For the future, Smirnov hopes that his career will include solo performances, performances with an orchestra, and eventually also teaching. At the moment, he says, his goal is to be the best musician he can be, and to help people understand and love classical music.

“Music is one of the most universal ways to send a message,” Smirnov says. “There is some kind of an art to getting attention when you perform; when you play, and then you pause, you can hear the silence. In the silence, the public is actually listening to you. I’m trying to be a sincere musician.”

The concert organizers hope to raise $7,500, to cover Smirnov’s travel expenses.  

“With a $20 ticket fee for the benefit, we’re keeping the price low,” said Pascale, “but we will also encourage larger donations at the door, through our nonprofit foundation.“

Donations to the foundation will be earmarked to help Smirnov.

For More Info

Check out the YouTube videos above to see Smirnov perform. Read more about him here.

For more on the concert, visit South Pasadena Strings Program or call Susan Pascale at 626-403-4611.