Download biography - Richard Glazier

BIOGRAPHY
RICHARD GLAZIER
PIANIST
Raconteur - Cultural Historian
Every artist has an epiphany. For classically-trained, award-winning pianist Richard Glazier, it happened at age nine
when he heard a recording of George Gershwin's “Rhapsody in Blue” and saw the film “Girl Crazy” with a score by
George & Ira Gershwin.
This prompted the 9-year-old Glazier to start a correspondence with famed lyricist Ira Gershwin. At 12, he was invited
to visit and play a Gershwin tune on the piano that once belonged to Ira's brother, legendary composer George
Gershwin. From then on, Richard Glazier became an expert in Gershwin repertoire and a collector of everything
related to the golden age of the Great American Songbook.
Originally from Indianapolis, Indiana, Glazier began studying piano when he was 6 years old. Trained in the classics,
Glazier earned Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Piano Performance from Indiana University School of Music,
studying with Menaham Pressler, and a Doctorate of Musical Arts from the Cleveland Institute of Music.
In addition to Ira Gershwin's blessings, Glazier has received the Alumni Achievement Award from the Cleveland
Institute of Music for his contributions to the American Popular Song. He has won several major international piano
competitions including the Pro Musicis International Award and the National Federation of Music Clubs' Grand Prize.
He also has the distinction of being selected as a “Steinway Artist.”
He has performed in every state of the union, at the United Nations, and at Carnegie Hall.
But, Glazier's passion for the rich, cultural heritage of early 20th-century America
led him to create special programs celebrating the era -- the music, the
composers, the performers, old-time Broadway shows, and movie musicals. For
these concerts, as Glazier plays the piano, he weaves in commentary on the
history behind the songs, fascinating stories about the composers, the shows, the
films, and the stars, along with funny anecdotes, vintage images, and film clips.
These special concerts have led to two national television specials: From
Gershwin to Garland was broadcast on PBS stations throughout the country in
2010 and From Ragtime to Reel Time will start airing on many PBS stations in
March 2012.
Another one of Richard Glazier's passions is performing for those less fortunate
who seldom have the chance to hear live music. Through the auspices of Pro
Musicis, he has done community service concerts for every conceivable audience
-- from prisons to homeless shelters, from retirement homes to high-school
auditoriums.
Glazier's last-but-not-least passion is his memorabilia from the Gershwins and their talented contemporaries. He has
spent a lifetime collecting autographed sheet music, concert programs, photographs, books, and an extensive
collection of vintage movie posters.
Richard Glazier and his wife Jan, Director of Music at PianoDisc, live happily in Sacramento, CA with their Great
American Songbook memorabilia.