Wednesday, November 9, 2022 @ 12:00pm – 1:00pm (PST)

Piano Sonatas by Beethoven and Scriabin, followed by Cello Suite No. 1 by Benjamin Britten.

About Luke Raffanti, piano

Luke Raffanti has been a frequent piano performer around Seattle since moving here in 2017. Before the pandemic, he performed frequently at house concerts, retirement homes, and for benefit concerts. In 2018, he earned the top prize in the Chopin Northwest solo piano competition and in 2019 he was featured as vocal accompanist and solo pianist on Classical KING FM. He has enjoyed collaborating with several professional opera companies: Seattle Opera, Seattle Modern Opera Company, and Northwest Opera in Schools, as well as numerous individual professional vocalists. Luke teaches roughly 40 students of all ages at Cascade Piano Studio in Ravenna, and is the collaborative pianist and organist at Richmond Beach Congregational United Church of Christ in Shoreline. Lately Luke has been taking voice lessons with Davida Kagen and singing with Seattle Pro Musica. He earned a BM in classical piano performance and a BA in environmental studies from Oberlin College and Conservatory of Music.

https://soundcloud.com/luke-raffanti

About Erika Pierson, cello

Erika Pierson, cellist, grew up in the Seattle area, beginning cello at age 7. Her cello studies have taken her to Bloomington, Indiana, Berlin, Germany, London, England and Ann Arbor, Michigan under teachers including Richard Aaron, Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi, Markus Nyikos, Eileen Croxford and Erling Blöndal Bengtsson. Erika has performed as a soloist in England, Germany, Spain and the United States. Currently, she spends her time teaching, freelancing in local orchestras, performing in chamber concerts and raising two daughters, two large dogs and chickens with her husband in Kirkland, WA.