Townsend School of Music to Present Free Concert with World-Renowned Pianist Andre Watts

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MACON – Mercer University's Townsend School of Music will present highly acclaimed pianist Andre Watts on April 23.

The season finale to the Joan Stockstill Godsey Concert Series, the performance is free and open to public, and will take place in Neva Langley Fickling Hall in the McCorkle Music Building on Mercer's Macon campus, beginning at 7:30 p.m. Admission is first come, first served.

One of the world's most celebrated pianists, Watts continues to give numerous recitals and performs with the world's major orchestras and conductors, while making regular visits to the major summer music festivals, including Ravinia, Tanglewood, Saratoga, the Mann Music Center, Mostly Mozart and the Hollywood Bowl.

A much-honored artist, Watts was selected in 1988 to receive the Avery Fisher Prize, one of the top individual honors for an American classical musician. At age 26, he was the youngest person ever to receive an honorary doctorate from Yale University, and he has received numerous such honors from many of the nation's most respected conservatories. In 1984, the Peabody Conservatory of Music at Johns Hopkins University honored Watts with its Distinguished Alumni Award.

About the Joan S. Godsey Center for Keyboard Studies

Mercer University has become an All-Steinway school through the generosity of Mercer's chancellor, Dr. R. Kirby Godsey. With the establishment of the Joan Stockstill Godsey Center for Keyboard Studies, the Townsend School of Music will exclusively feature Steinway & Sons pianos for all teaching, rehearsals and performances. The gift, which recognizes Joan Godsey's many contributions to Mercer, and in particular her love of and commitment to music, provides for 37 new pianos and creates an endowed fund to support the care and upkeep of all the pianos. The Godsey Center also hosts an annual concert series that features leading international performing keyboard artists. The Godsey Center joins the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings, the Townsend-McAfee Institute for Graduate Church Music Studies, and the Jo Phelps Fabian Center for Musical Excellence as signature programs of the Townsend School of Music.

About Townsend School of Music

Mercer University's Townsend School of Music, the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings and the Townsend-McAfee Institute for Graduate Studies offer undergraduate and graduate professional music studies in a comprehensive university environment. Townsend is nationally recognized for its outstanding faculty, award-winning students, performance ensembles and state-of-the-art facilities. The McDuffie Center, a special institute within Townsend School of Music, is a highly selective program that prepares string students for success in the real world. Students study with some of America's most renowned string musicians, receiving music instruction of conservatory quality, while earning an academically well-rounded education from a comprehensive, nationally recognized university. For more information and a complete listing of this season's concerts, visit www.mercer.edu/music, or call (478) 301-2748.