Arts Engage, in collaboration with Phi Beta Kappa and the College of Visual and Performing Arts, will host renowned pianist Stephanie Trick on Tuesday, Oct. 4, at 8 p.m. in Setnor Auditorium, in Crouse College. Arts Engage, the portal of Syracuse University’s Office of the Arts Presenter, engages and inspires the SU community through diverse performance art.
Trick is one of the youngest pianists to master the Harlem stride style, a unique two-handed piano playing style developed in large cities along the East Coast in the 1920s and 1930s. She performs a variety of classic jazz genres, including swing, boogie woogie and blues. Because the history of Harlem stride is largely unknown to her audience, Trick peppers each performance with stories from other stride masters. While in Syracuse,Trick will also hold workshops for campus music classes and will visit Henninger High School.
“It’ll be great to meet Stephanie and hear more of her story while she is with us on campus and in the community,” University Arts Presenter Carole Brzozowski says. “I’m in awe of her ability and fascinated by her unusual choice of musical genre. I know she will provoke some very interesting discussion while stunning us with her performances.”
In 2008 and 2010, Trick was invited to play the international Stride and Swing Summit in Switzerland, and while at the venue, collaborated with pianists from four countries. Trick also appeared at the Great Connecticut Traditional Jazz Festival, the Cincy Blues Fest in Cincinnati and the West Coast Ragtime Festival in Sacramento.
Trick’s latest CD is “Something More,” recorded on the Victoria Records label in March 2011. A video version of the concert recorded in May 2010 at the Sheldon Concert Hall in St. Louis was released with bonus material on DVD in June 2011. Trick will also co-star along with 2011 Grammy nominee lyricist and vocalist Lorraine Feather in Nouveau Stride, a touring program featuring the music of James P. Johnson and other composers.
A native of St. Louis, Mo., Trick has been playing piano since the age of 5. She graduated from the University of Chicago, where she was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa academic honor society and earned a bachelor of arts in music.To preview her work, visit http://www.youtube.com/stephtrick. For more information, contact Leah Stacy at (585) 749-2947 or lrstacy@syr.edu.
