Syracuse Piano LIT with Dr. Dan

Pianist Dan Sato presents solo works of Natalie Draper, George N. Gianopoulos, Meredith Monk, Ravel, and Earl Wild.

Described by the legendary American virtuoso, André Watts as a musician of “exuberant spontaneity, deep conviction, and serious compositional understanding,” Dan indulges in a rich career performing solo, chamber music, art song, and operatic repertoire. As a pianist, educator, and researcher, he embodies the motto written on his favorite T-shirt, “88 keys, 10 fingers — no problem.”

He has been heard internationally through BBC, WQXR, CBC, KHPR, and major streaming media platforms, and has performed at music festivals across the US, including Brevard Music Center, Chautauqua Music Festival, Rebecca Penneys Piano Festival, Castleman Quartet Program, and Taconic Music’s Summer Festival. He frequently collaborates with artists of his generation including Joohyun Lee, Yeil Park, Rachel Doehring, and Hannah Tarley, and has recorded critically acclaimed albums with Diane Hunger (Deviations) and Leah Plave (Impressions: The Rediscovery of Henriëtte Bosmans).

Appreciated among his colleagues as a human archive of pianistic knowledge and culture, he is a frequent resource for technical solutions, programming, historical recordings, and obscure scores. “Dr. Dan” (as students affectionately call him) has coached students and taught keyboard literature at Syracuse University and has been a faculty artist at the Perlman Music Program, ArtsAhimsa, and Notes By The Bay Music Festival.

Dan currently specializes in solo piano transcriptions, both as a performer and transcriber. His adaptation of Ravel’s Introduction et Allegro was published by Muse Press in 2020, and he has since then served as their editor and scholarly consultant for publications of works by Edouard Risler (Strauss’ Till Eulenspiegel’s lustige Streiche), Leopold Godowsky (Rediscovered incomplete Studies on Chopin’s Etudes Nos. 30A and 50), Keigo Mukawa (Ravel’s Ma Mère l’Oye), and Yui Morishita (Toshiya Shioiri’s Aoi Tori). He also gave the world premiere performance of Vincenzo Maltempo’s tour de force transcription of the Second Suite from Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé, which was previously considered unplayable due to its extreme virtuosic demands. His recent curation of repertoire resulted in a rare, all-symphonic piano recital celebrating orchestral masterworks associated with the Ballets Russes.

Dan completed his doctoral studies at the University of Miami Frost School of Music with the internationally renowned pianist, Kevin Kenner, and continues to be under the mentorship of Dr. Frank Heneghan. He has also studied with Chieko Munakata, Peter Coraggio, Donna Loewy, Judith Burganger, and André Watts.

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CMM (Civic Morning Musicals) exists to support classically trained musicians and their audiences throughout the Central New York region. It is a non-profit, volunteer-run organization, which produces more than 30 concerts a year and sponsors activities for young musicians.