“An Evening of Romance and Dance – Grigorios Zamparas & Shanna Thompson in works by F. Schubert, J. Brahms, A. Dvorák

F. Schubert – Impromptus op. 90 Nos. 2, 3, 4 – Shanna Thompson

J. Brahms – Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel Opus 24 – Grigorios Zamparas

F. Schubert: Du Bist die Ruh, An die Musik – Shanna Thompson, soprano, Grigorios Zamparas piano

J. Brahms: Hungarian Dances nos. 5 and 8 – Shanna Thompson, Grigorios Zamparas

Α. Dvorak: Slavonic Dances in e minor op. 72, no. 2 and G minor op. 46, no. 8

                                                      Biographical notes

Grigorios Zamparas has received rave reviews for his performances in recitals, chamber music concerts and orchestral concerts in Greece, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Russia, Latin America, South Korea and the United States. He frequently appears in various festivals around the world, such as the famous Newport Music Festival (Rhode Island, USA), Mainly Mozart Festival (Miami, USA), Artist Series of Sarasota (USA), Salon of the Arts (Sofia, Bulgaria), the International Portoheli Festival e.t.c. Furthermore, he has appeared as a soloist in more than twenty different piano concertos, with orchestras such as the Porto Alegre Symphony Orchestra (Brazil), the Indiana University Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Neo-Politan Chamber Orchestra, the Togliati Philharmonic (Russia), the Sofia Soloists (Bulgaria) and the Bohuslav Martinu Philharmonic Orchestra (Czech Republic). He is an assistant professor of music and head of the piano department at the University of Tampa in the United States, as well as member of the Quartet de Minaret, a piano quartet based at the same university. In the academic year 2010-2011 he received the Outstanding Scholarship or Creative Work Award. Grigorios Zamparas started studying piano at the age of seven, while he received his piano diploma from the Lamia Conservatory in 1995 with the distinguished Greek teacher Yorgos Manessis. He holds a DMA from the University of Miami where he studied with Ivan Davis, a student of Vladimir Horowitz. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Indiana (MM), the University of Indianapolis (BM) and the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Since 1993 he has appeared continuously at the International Portoheli Festival where he has performed more than 300 works. Recently, the American label Centaur Records released G. Zambara’s recordings of the five Piano Concertos of the Russian composer Anton Rubinstein.

Shanna Thompson holds a Masters of Music in Piano Performance and Sacred Studies from the University of Florida as well as a Bachelors of Music in Piano Performance from the University of Tampa. She has performed solo and chamber works in master classes and international festivals across Europe, including the Portoheli Festival for Arts and Culture and the Piano Plus Festival in Xanthi, Greece. Shanna is the recipient of the 2023-24 UF Graduate Student Teaching award, the Marvin Hamlisch Piano scholarship and the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay scholarship. Shanna currently works full time as a piano teacher in Tampa, Florida teaching private students of all ages.