APRIL 14, 2023 Sean Baran
"LEOPOLD GODOWSKY'S STUDENT/TEACHER DUETS"
Steinway Piano Gallery, 334 E. Hines Hill Road, Hudson
9:30 - 10:00 Conversation (Bring your own coffee)
10:00 - 11:30 Program
Leopold Godowsky created a collection of 46 student/teacher piano duets entitled Miniatures. Sean Baran will explore the historical and musical background about Godowsky's collection of duets. He will provide some thoughts on their musical as well as pedagogical value and use.
https://youtu.be/uYOkUIdbtww
https://youtu.be/2Lc9gPjgXN4
Sean Baran is a pianist and organist based in Youngstown, Ohio. He graduated summa cum laude from Youngstown State University's Dana School of Music with a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in music performance. At YSU, he studied piano with Dr. Caroline Oltmanns and organ with Dr. Daniel Laginya. As an undergraduate, Sean was a winner of the Dana Young Artist Competition, resulting in a performance of the first movement of the Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1. As a graduate student, Sean was heavily involved in the piano, keyboard musicianship, and music theory departments by serving as both classroom instructor and teaching assistant in all areas. In 2014, Sean attended the Zodiac Festival in Nice, France where he studied for two weeks with Francine Kay and performed in multiple chamber groups. In addition to maintaining a private piano studio in Youngstown, Sean is also currently a resident artist at Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School in Midland, PA where he runs the piano program. Sean is also the organist at Boardman United Methodist Church where he runs the Boardman United Methodist Church Community Concert Series.
Sean strives to merge performance with community engagement. Recent concerts organized by Sean have brought together multiple church choirs to raise money for the McGuffey Historical Society, the American Guild of Organists, the Boardman High School Choirs, and the Heartland Christian School music program. Most recently, five local church choirs and other members of the community joined together with the Youngstown Cantorum in a community Hymn Sing organized by Sean which raised over $1,000 towards Youngstown Cantorum’s performance at Carnegie Hal. Performances of holiday piano music at the Mill Creek Metroparks Fellows Riverside Gardens has allowed his music to be heard by more casual audiences. Sean served as the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra’s ensemble keyboardist during their 2018/2019 Stained-Glass and Classics series. Sean was honored to be included in YSU’s Alumni Recital Series during fall 2020 held in the McDonough Museum of Art where he presented music by Brahms and Persichetti in a program that he called “Turbulence and Transcendence.”
Passionate about piano pedagogy, Sean’s students frequently receive the highest ratings at local adjudicated events and can be heard throughout the area in recitals and in masterclasses. Additionally, his students have earned first place and honorable mentions at competitions such as the OMTA Buckeye Auditions the Allegheny College’s Unusual Combinations Piano Competition, Pittsburgh MTA’s Lois Streator & Lois Smith Memorial Competition, and the Blackwood Arts Scholarship Competition. Sean’s students have been heard participating in events such as the North-East Ohio Keyboard Festival and Cleveland Institute of Music’s Summer Sonata as well as various honors recitals hosted by YMTA, OFMC, OMTA, and the Steinway Society of Western Pennsylvania. Four of his students have earned the prestigious opportunity perform a solo program in Pittsburgh’s Heinz Hall through successful competitive auditions for the Steinway Society of Western Pennsylvania, and one of his students has had the distinct privilege to perform in Carnegie Hall. His students have gone on to study music on scholarship at universities including the Catholic University of America, Dennison University, Eastern Michigan University, Oberlin College and Conservatory, and Youngstown State University.
Sean currently serves as the Vice President of Youngstown Music Teachers’ Association, Vice President of Student Activities of Ohio Music Teachers Association Middle East District, and the State Junior Counselor for the Ohio Federation of Music Clubs. He is also a member of the American Guild of Organists, serving as a member of the Executive Committee for the Youngstown Chapter. In addition to his musical endeavors, Sean is an advocate for Youngstown and Mill Creek Park as well as an amateur photographer. He currently is a member of the Mill Creek Metroparks’ Environmental Advisory Committee.
Follow Sean on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube to learn more about his art.
IG: @seanryanbaran
YT: https://www.youtube.com/c/SeanRyanBaran
"LEOPOLD GODOWSKY'S STUDENT/TEACHER DUETS"
Steinway Piano Gallery, 334 E. Hines Hill Road, Hudson
9:30 - 10:00 Conversation (Bring your own coffee)
10:00 - 11:30 Program
Leopold Godowsky created a collection of 46 student/teacher piano duets entitled Miniatures. Sean Baran will explore the historical and musical background about Godowsky's collection of duets. He will provide some thoughts on their musical as well as pedagogical value and use.
https://youtu.be/uYOkUIdbtww
https://youtu.be/2Lc9gPjgXN4
Sean Baran is a pianist and organist based in Youngstown, Ohio. He graduated summa cum laude from Youngstown State University's Dana School of Music with a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in music performance. At YSU, he studied piano with Dr. Caroline Oltmanns and organ with Dr. Daniel Laginya. As an undergraduate, Sean was a winner of the Dana Young Artist Competition, resulting in a performance of the first movement of the Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1. As a graduate student, Sean was heavily involved in the piano, keyboard musicianship, and music theory departments by serving as both classroom instructor and teaching assistant in all areas. In 2014, Sean attended the Zodiac Festival in Nice, France where he studied for two weeks with Francine Kay and performed in multiple chamber groups. In addition to maintaining a private piano studio in Youngstown, Sean is also currently a resident artist at Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School in Midland, PA where he runs the piano program. Sean is also the organist at Boardman United Methodist Church where he runs the Boardman United Methodist Church Community Concert Series.
Sean strives to merge performance with community engagement. Recent concerts organized by Sean have brought together multiple church choirs to raise money for the McGuffey Historical Society, the American Guild of Organists, the Boardman High School Choirs, and the Heartland Christian School music program. Most recently, five local church choirs and other members of the community joined together with the Youngstown Cantorum in a community Hymn Sing organized by Sean which raised over $1,000 towards Youngstown Cantorum’s performance at Carnegie Hal. Performances of holiday piano music at the Mill Creek Metroparks Fellows Riverside Gardens has allowed his music to be heard by more casual audiences. Sean served as the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra’s ensemble keyboardist during their 2018/2019 Stained-Glass and Classics series. Sean was honored to be included in YSU’s Alumni Recital Series during fall 2020 held in the McDonough Museum of Art where he presented music by Brahms and Persichetti in a program that he called “Turbulence and Transcendence.”
Passionate about piano pedagogy, Sean’s students frequently receive the highest ratings at local adjudicated events and can be heard throughout the area in recitals and in masterclasses. Additionally, his students have earned first place and honorable mentions at competitions such as the OMTA Buckeye Auditions the Allegheny College’s Unusual Combinations Piano Competition, Pittsburgh MTA’s Lois Streator & Lois Smith Memorial Competition, and the Blackwood Arts Scholarship Competition. Sean’s students have been heard participating in events such as the North-East Ohio Keyboard Festival and Cleveland Institute of Music’s Summer Sonata as well as various honors recitals hosted by YMTA, OFMC, OMTA, and the Steinway Society of Western Pennsylvania. Four of his students have earned the prestigious opportunity perform a solo program in Pittsburgh’s Heinz Hall through successful competitive auditions for the Steinway Society of Western Pennsylvania, and one of his students has had the distinct privilege to perform in Carnegie Hall. His students have gone on to study music on scholarship at universities including the Catholic University of America, Dennison University, Eastern Michigan University, Oberlin College and Conservatory, and Youngstown State University.
Sean currently serves as the Vice President of Youngstown Music Teachers’ Association, Vice President of Student Activities of Ohio Music Teachers Association Middle East District, and the State Junior Counselor for the Ohio Federation of Music Clubs. He is also a member of the American Guild of Organists, serving as a member of the Executive Committee for the Youngstown Chapter. In addition to his musical endeavors, Sean is an advocate for Youngstown and Mill Creek Park as well as an amateur photographer. He currently is a member of the Mill Creek Metroparks’ Environmental Advisory Committee.
Follow Sean on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube to learn more about his art.
IG: @seanryanbaran
YT: https://www.youtube.com/c/SeanRyanBaran
