Petersen, winner of the 2017 American Pianists Awards, was honored as an Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient in a ceremony at The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space at WQXR on March 22, 2018

Petersen, winner of the 2017 American Pianists Awards, was honored as an Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient in a ceremony at The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space at WQXR on March 22, 2018

Drew Petersen

Drew Petersen is one of four recipients of this year’s Avery Fisher Career Grants, presented in a ceremony on March 22, 2018 at 6pm at The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space at WQXR. The other Career Grant recipients for 2018 include Xavier Foley, double bassist; Francisco Fullana, violinist; and the Calidore String Quartet. Petersen, Foley, and Fullana each performed following the official announcement of the Career Grants, made by the Avery Fisher Artist Program’s Chairman, Joseph W. Polisi, Nancy Fisher and Charles Avery Fisher.

Introducing the 2018 Avery Fisher Career Grants

At 6 pm on Thursday, watch the announcement of the 2018 Avery Fisher Career Grants live from The Greene Space at WNYC/WQXR. The ceremony, hosted by WQXR's Elliott Forrest, features performances by this year's honorees who have been selected for their potential to have great careers as instrumentalists.

Posted by WQXR on Thursday, March 22, 2018

The performance streamed live on Facebook and will broadcast Tuesday, April 24 at 9 pm on 105.9 FM and www.wqxr.org. Skip to the 0:45:00 mark for Drew's Performance.

In addition to joining the Opus 3 Artists roster, where he is managed by Jenny Vogel, Petersen won the 2017 American Pianists Awards after a rigorous 13-month competition comprising solo and chamber recitals, concerto performances, and community outreach activities. His debut album for the Steinway & Sons label, featuring music by all American composers, will be released in early summer of 2018.

About Drew Petersen

Acclaimed 24-year-old American pianist Drew Petersen is a sought-after soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Winner of the 2017 American Pianists Awards and the Christel DeHaan Fellow of the American Pianists Association, and also Artist-In-Residence at the University of Indianapolis, he has been praised for his commanding and poetic performances of repertoire ranging from Bach to Zaimont.

Fall 2017 saw Mr. Petersen's debut with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra and included solo recitals at the Gilmore International Keyboard Festival, University of Indianapolis, and Dame Myra Hess Concerts (Chicago). Highlights of the second half of Petersen's 2017-18 season include his debut with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and a nine-city US recital tour culminating with a solo recital at the Cleveland International Piano Competition. Of note is Mr. Petersen's Spring 2018 debut album for the Steinway & Sons record label. The CD explores 20th- and 21st-century American piano music and features the monumental piano sonatas of Samuel Barber and Elliott Carter, the world premiere recording of Judith Lang Zaimont's suite Attars, and works by Charles Griffes and Charles Ives.

Mr. Petersen's firm belief in the importance of music in contemporary global society led him to collaborations with Young Audiences NY presenting performances in NYC Public Schools. A tireless advocate for the necessity of classical music and other arts in society, he was named a 2006 Davidson Fellow for his portfolio entitled “Keeping Classical Music Alive.” His singular talent has been profiled in The New York Times, New York Magazine, and the documentary "just normal" by award-winning director Kim A. Snyder.

Drew Petersen is currently a candidate in the Artist Diploma program at The Juilliard School, studying under Robert McDonald.

About the Avery Fisher Artist Program

The Avery Fisher Artist Program, established by the late Avery Fisher as part of a major gift to Lincoln Center in 1974, serves as a monument to Mr. Fisher’s philanthropy and love of music.  The Career Grants in particular exemplify his devotion to helping young artists and embody his philosophy to give back to the world what music had given to him. The Program supporting instrumentalists and chamber ensembles who must be U.S. citizens or permanent U.S. residents continues to provide recognition in two categories: The Career Grants, given annually, and the Prize, given less frequently as the highest form of recognition for excellence and contributions to classical music.  The Avery Fisher Artist Program is committed to all forms of diversity, with award recipients being chosen based on outstanding artistic merit.  Final selections are made by the Program’s Executive Committee.

Avery Fisher Career Grants of the Avery Fisher Artist Program are designed to give professional assistance and recognition to talented instrumentalists, as well as chamber ensembles, who the Recommendation Board and Executive Committee of the Avery Fisher Artist Program believe to have great potential for major careers. Each recipient receives an award of $25,000, to be used for specific needs in advancing a career. Additionally, the Career Grant ceremony performances are professionally recorded for the recipients’ unrestricted use, posted on the Program’s website, broadcast and webstreamed by WQXR and used by WNET Thirteen’s NYC Arts. As of 2016, recipients also receive a custom designed blue and gold rosette, given as a physical symbol of the Career Grant award. Up to five Avery Fisher Career Grants may be given each year. Recipients are nominated by the Program's Recommendation Board, made up of nationally known instrumentalists, conductors, composers, music educators, managers and presenters.

Sign up for our Newsletter
Our diverse world shapes our music, the artistic language of our contestants. It delights, informs, and inspires us all. It is in this spirit that the American Pianists Association welcomes people of any race, ethnicity, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, and gender identity, as well as people with disabilities. We commit to learn from diverse talents, ideas, and voices. We pledge to create an environment for our artists, audiences, community partners, board, and staff that is based on the values of diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice. Further, we commit to enacting strategic and annual plans that provide focused, measurable strategies for living out these values every day.