Adrienne Park, pianist
"gorgeous expressiveness and vitality while keeping the performance seamless"
Jon W. Sparks, The Commercial Appeal
Adrienne Park has a wide breadth of experience as a collaborative pianist in chamber, symphonic, and contemporary music settings. She has performed recitals with many renowned artists, including violinists Joshua Bell and Andrew Dawes, cellists Shauna Rolston and Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi, bassist Edgar Meyer, flutists Paul Edmund Davies, Timothy Hutchins, and Tara Helen O’Connor, bassoonist Frank Morelli, saxophonist Nikita Zimin and Robert Young, horn artist Frøydis Ree Wekre, the percussion group NEXUS, soprano Mary Wilson, and tenor Telly Leung. She also appeared recently in concert with Grammy-award winning American songwriter, lyricist, and record producer Glen Ballard.
She is Principal Piano and Celeste with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Robert Moody, a position she has held since 2004. As a featured soloist with MSO's Masterworks Series, she performed Doreen Carwithen's Concerto for Piano and Strings and Francis Poulenc's Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra. In addition to their symphonic series, the MSO performs frequently with Opera Memphis, Ballet Memphis, New Ballet Ensemble, and Collage Dance Collective.
As a longstanding member of the music faculty at the University of Mississippi since 2001, Adrienne is currently Assistant Professor of Collaborative Piano. She coordinates the Collaborative Piano area and performs regularly with music faculty and guest artists. In 2013, she launched her own series, Sonic Explorations, which highlights music faculty and professional musicians in the region. She mentors the graduate collaborative piano students, coaches chamber ensembles, and collaborates with music students. She designed the curriculum for Keyboard Musicianship, a required course for music majors.
Since 2005, Adrienne has performed with Iris Orchestra, directed by Michael Stern. As part of Iris' Brooks Museum series, she recently presented a recital with violinist Nancy Zhou, winner of the 2018 Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition. Iris Orchestra's roster includes musicians from some of the country’s finest orchestras, universities, and chamber groups.
A proponent of contemporary music, Adrienne has performed many world premieres. She recently performed the world premiere of "Lily of the Valley" from Flower Catalog by American melodist Stephanie Ann Boyd. With Kokoro Dance, she premiered the productions of Sunyata, Truths of the Blood, Dance of the Dead, Encounters with the Goddess, Sade—Part II, and Embryonic Cavatina. With Joe Ink Dance, she performed in a contemporary jazz ensemble led by composer John Korsrud, premiering the productions of Swing Theory and Seven. She co-founded the trio SqueezPlay with accordionist Douglas Schmidt and percussionist David Carlisle. SqueezPlay recorded a CD of original works entitled rubber horn at the Banff Centre for the Arts with producer Mark S. Willsher. SqueezPlay performed a program as guest artists at the Winnipeg New Music Festival with cellist Shauna Rolston.
Since 2004, Adrienne has performed with the Memphis Chamber Music Society, which presents concerts in landmark homes and art galleries in Memphis, featuring gifted local musicians and internationally known artists. At Crosstown Arts, a newly established contemporary arts center in Memphis, Adrienne performs with Blueshift Ensemble and recently with the Mahogany Chamber Series, curated by Artina McCain, which spotlights underrepresented composers and performers.
For six years at the Banff Centre for the Arts, she was the faculty collaborative pianist for both the fall and winter residencies. For several summers, she was a faculty collaborative pianist for the string and woodwind masterclasses. While at Banff, she had the privilege of working closely with Isobel Moore Rolston and Tom Rolston.
Adrienne’s private students have been recognized for state honors as part of the Mississippi Music Teachers' Association. One of her students repeatedly won the Music Teachers' National Association Composition Competition for the State of Mississippi (2015-2021) and the Southern Division (2016-2018).
Adrienne studied with Abbey Simon and Ruth Tomfohrde at the University of Houston and with Robert Silverman at the University of British Columbia.