James Dick
JAMES DICK is recognized as one of the truly important pianists of his generation. As an internationally renowned concert pianist and Steinway artist, Dick brings keyboard performances that radiate intellectual insight and emotional authenticity. Raised in rural Kansas, his talent moved him from the farm to the University of Texas music building and then to the world’s great concert halls. He received a scholarship to The University of Texas at Austin and later was a Fulbright Scholar. Dick’s early triumphs as a major prizewinner in the Tchaikovsky, Bosni and Leventritt International Competitions were a prelude to an eminent career highlighted by acclaimed recitals and concerto performances in the world’s premier concert halls.
Dick has received numerous honors and commendations, including the Texas Medal of Arts, the Chevalier des Arts et Lettres from the French Ministry of Culture, and Honorary Associate of London’s Royal Academy of Music. He is a fervent supporter of new music, having commissioned Benjamin Lees, Dan Welcher, Malcolm Hawkins, and Chinary Ung to write, respectively, “Etudes”, “Shiva’s Drum”, “Rasmandala”, and “Rising Light” for piano and orchestra. In February 1998, James Dick premiered “Flight of Passage: From Silent Sun to Starry Night” by Claude Baker, inspired by the poems of Walt Whitman.
In addition to his schedule as a world-renowned guest artist, in 1971 Dick established the Round Top Festival Institute in Round Top, Texas to nurture and incubate aspiring young musicians. The institute, operated by the James Dick Foundation for the Performing Arts, has grown from a handful of gifted young pianists in a rented space on the town square of Round Top to a 210-acre European-styled campus. Each year, distinguished faculty teach nearly 100 young artists and the festival institute provides year-round education and performance programs for audiences. James Dick is well-known to music lovers as a man of great talent, vision, and refinement.
Dick has received numerous honors and commendations, including the Texas Medal of Arts, the Chevalier des Arts et Lettres from the French Ministry of Culture, and Honorary Associate of London’s Royal Academy of Music. He is a fervent supporter of new music, having commissioned Benjamin Lees, Dan Welcher, Malcolm Hawkins, and Chinary Ung to write, respectively, “Etudes”, “Shiva’s Drum”, “Rasmandala”, and “Rising Light” for piano and orchestra. In February 1998, James Dick premiered “Flight of Passage: From Silent Sun to Starry Night” by Claude Baker, inspired by the poems of Walt Whitman.
In addition to his schedule as a world-renowned guest artist, in 1971 Dick established the Round Top Festival Institute in Round Top, Texas to nurture and incubate aspiring young musicians. The institute, operated by the James Dick Foundation for the Performing Arts, has grown from a handful of gifted young pianists in a rented space on the town square of Round Top to a 210-acre European-styled campus. Each year, distinguished faculty teach nearly 100 young artists and the festival institute provides year-round education and performance programs for audiences. James Dick is well-known to music lovers as a man of great talent, vision, and refinement.