Pierre van der Westhuizen, a native of South Africa, graduated from Potchefstroom University with a double major in Piano Performance and Composition & Theory. He made his concerto debut in 1998, performing with the National Chamber Orchestra of South Africa. He finished his doctoral studies in the U.S., focusing on piano performance. In 2001 he won an international competition to appear as soloist and chamber musician at the Rome Festival in Italy. He continues to perform internationally as soloist and collaborative pianist, and appeared as soloist with the Toledo Symphony Orchestra, as well as such artists as Annette-Barbara Vogel (violin), Ioana Galu (violin), Joel Becktell (cello), and Deborah Norin-Kuehn (soprano).
Pierre is also part of the Westhuizen Piano Duo, with his wife Sophia van der Westhuizen. As duo, they have performed across the U.S. and South Africa, where they also teach master classes. They recently debuted at the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival in Michigan, which included such artists as James Tocco, Anne-Marie McDermott, Wu Han, and Jeremy Denk, and was recently featured on NPR and PBS Television as part of Chicago’s Dame Myra Hess Concert Series.
Dr. van der Westhuizen currently serves on the faculty of Heidelberg University, where he is Assistant Professor of Piano.
|
|
