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Always dedicated to nurturing the artistic growth of his
students, George Katz has seen many of them excel in international,
national and local competitions. These have resulted in
performances with such ensembles as the Minnesota Orchestra,
Chicago Civic Orchestra, San Diego Symphony, La Jolla Symphony
and the Belgian National Orchestra. In addition, he has
taught national MTNA finalists on both the high school and
collegiate level and in 1984 became the first to receive
the MTNA Master Teacher Certificate in its West-Central
Division.
George Katz holds undergraduate
and graduate degrees from the Juilliard School, which awarded
him the Wedge and Loeb Prizes for outstanding accomplishment.
He performed with the Juilliard Orchestra and during his
final year of graduate study, won the Walter Naumburg Award
which provided for a debut recital at Town Hall, New York
and also was awarded a Fulbright Grant for study in Paris.
There, he worked with legendary French pianists Alfred Cortot
and Marguerite Long. He became the first American prizewinner
at the international Concours Marguerite Long in Paris and
won the top prize at the Viotti Competition in Italy.
Upon returning to the
United States, George Katz began a career as a university
professor of piano, serving at Ohio University and Drake
University, at which latter institution he was both professor
and chairman of the piano faculty. He performed widely during
much of this time, presenting two recitals at Carnegie Hall
and touring in Japan, Europe and Latin America as well as
in the US. Upon moving to San Diego he taught at San Diego
State University and continues to welcome gifted students
at his San Diego studio. |
