Our Masterclasses are different from normal classes and that’s why they are great for all. They include artists and teachers tips and anecdotes about their technique, style of music, compositions, inspirations and influences. A great way to broaden your vision of music and develop your playing technique and knowledge of music!
August MasterClass with
Matthieu-Cognet (August - Exact date will be scheduled)
5-day sessions in August (starting the second week of August).
French pianist Matthieu Cognet is an active soloist and sought-after chamber player who performs extensively in Europe and the United States. He has appeared in major venues and festivals in Europe and the United States, including Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, Steinway Hall, the Cultural Institute of Chicago (Dame Myra Hess Series), Hemptinne Festival (Belgium), Rushmore Music Festival, SD, Memphis in May Festival, and Prades Festival (France). He recently collaborated in concert with Juilliard and Stony Brook faculty and Grammy Award nominee Carol Wincenc.
He has been a soloist with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, Stony Brook University Orchestra, Indiana University Student Orchestra, and the Paris Sorbonne Orchestra. His recital and chamber music performances have been featured on Radio France and Chicago WMFT Radio broadcasts.
Matthieu Cognet is a laureate of the Concours Musical de France and won the 1st Prize of the Travel Grant Competition in Bloomington in 2010. In March 2015, he won the Stony Brook Concerto Competition with R. Strauss’ Burleske for piano and orchestra. He won 1st Prize in the Entraide Française Competition in New York in May 2017, which earned him a recital at the French Consulate in New York City in the spring of 2018.
Mr. Cognet received degrees from the Conservatoire Supérieur de Paris–CNR (Bachelor of Arts) and the University of La Sorbonne in Paris (Master of Musicology). In 2007, he received his Master of Music in Piano Performance with High Distinction from the Royal Conservatory of Brussels and a Performer Diploma from Indiana University under the guidance of Bulgarian-born pianist and composer Emile Naoumoff. At Indiana University he had the privilege to work as Janos Starker’s studio accompanist, and worked with Joshua Bell and Andre Watts. His other teachers include Jean-Claude Vanden Eynden and Bruno Rigutto in Brussels and Paris, respectively. He performed in numerous master-classes in Europe with Jacques Rouvier in Nice (1998), Aquiles Delle-Vigne in Salzburg (2001), Dominique Merlet in Courchevel (2002, 2005), Boris Berman and Paul Badura-Skoda in Vila-seca (2011). He recently graduated with his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Stony Brook University, under the guidance of Professor Gilbert Kalish.
In addition to his performing activities, Mr. Cognet released his own arrangement of Maurice Ravel’s La Valse for piano solo under the label Lauren Keiser Publications (a group of Hal Leonard). He is also the Artistic Director and Masterclass Director of the French-American Piano Society. He has recorded his first album "Debut Recital" in 2011 and has signed with Odradek Records for his second album "Mit Humor" (international release in 2019). Currently, Matthieu is a Staff Pianist for The Juilliard School
Lyric tenor Kurt Alakulppi made his Carnegie Hall debut singing Schubert's MASS IN G with MidAmerica Productions and debuted at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall as Eduardo in Rossini's LA CAMBIALE DI MATRIMONIO, returning there to sing Kid Conner with The Little Orchestra Society in Victor Herbert's THE RED MILL.
A gifted singing-actor, Alakulppi was regarded by Opera News as making a "strong contribution" with his "ductile tenor" as Simon Stimson in the professional company premiere of Ned Rorem's OUR TOWN at Lake George Opera. Kurt has sung Remendado in CARMEN and Pasek in THE CUNNING LITTLE VIXEN at Portland Opera and a critically acclaimed Pedrillo in DIE ENTFUHRUNG AUS DEM SERAIL with Skylight Music Theater.
Past leading roles include Don Ottavio in DON GIOVANNI with Anchorage Opera; Ernesto in DON PASQUALE at Tacoma Opera; Almaviva in IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA with both Opera Idaho and for Nevada Opera's tour; Valere in Kirke Mechem's TARTUFFE at West Bay Opera; and Ferrando in COSI FAN TUTTE while an apprentice at Seattle Opera.
The Seattle native has participated in a number of new works in New York City. He created both Young Sean and Sean Jr. in the premiere of David Strickland's PHOENIX PARK at the Theater for the New City, premiered Philip Benson's high-flying SONGS OF WINTER, brought a 64-year-old Paul Cezanne to life in Martin Halpern's THE INSEPARABLES, and sang in Stephen Paulus' THE THREE HERMITS at the Quick Center for the Arts.
Alakulppi has a real passion for solo oratorio and concert work, having sung both Handel's MESSIAH and Eisenstein in DIE FLEDERMAUS with the Seattle Symphony; Britten's WAR REQUIEM, Haydn's CREATION, Handel's MESSIAH and Beethoven's MASS IN C, all as a guest artist with the Queens College Choral Society; the RACHMANINOFF VESPERS and Haydn's HEILIGMESSE with the Riverside Choral Society; and Bach's WEIHNACHTS ORATORIUM and Mendelssohn's ELIJAH with the Walla Walla Symphony. He sang John K. Paine's rarely heard MASS IN D with the Choral Arts Society of New Jersey, and soloed in Mendelssohn's ELIJAH with the Park Slope Singers, in Britten's GLORIANA DANCES with New York's Cerddorion, and in the Mozart REQUIEM at the Tilles Center and also with Hudson Opera Theater.
Alakulppi holds degrees in Vocal Performance and Editorial Journalism from the University of Washington, and is the winner of the Norwalk Symphony's Oratorio Soloist Competition and the Seattle Opera Michael Mitchell Award. After college he studied privately for 10 years with Ellen Faull Gordon, followed by many years with Dr. Robert C. White Jr. , both noted Juilliard vocal pedagogues.
Kurt now focuses on training the next generation, and has maintained a private voice studio in New York City since 2002. He joined Juilliard's Evening Division faculty in 2017. In 2018 he was recruited to teach at NYU's Classical Vocal Intensive, was a clinician at "Juilliard Unveiled", and presented at the National Association of Teacher's of Singing Conference. In September of 2020 Kurt taught employees in voice production at his first corporate training at Google's Forging Resilience: 2020 Pathfinder Virtual Offsite event. With the necessity of online learning platforms since March 2020, his students now come from all corners of the United States and around the world. In-person private studio instruction will return when safe to do so, and online lessons will continue as a part of the studio for those who are not local to New York.
