Giancarlo Facchi

Students from Dr. Enrico Elisi’s Studio
at Penn State University School of Music

Free Admission – We suggest a $10 donation

GIANCARLO FACCHI

Italian pianist Giancarlo Facchi graduated cum laude from the Conservatory “Luca Marenzio” (Italy) in 2004, where he studied with Daniela Piovani.

He won several piano competitions, such as the Paul Harris International Competition (first prize, 1998), and the International Competition Citt`a del Vasto (first prize, 2001 and 2003, and Mozart prize). He was also a first prize winner of many national competitions, including Bobbio (1996), Varenna (1998), Genova (1998) and Castiglion Fiorentino (2000). In 2005 he won the annual competition between the Conservatories of Northern Italy, in the piano category. He gave solo recitals in many Italian cities, and has performed in several chamber music groups.

Giancarlo Facchi earned a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in Civil Engineering, and is currently enrolled in the PhD in Mathematics at Penn State University. He’s studying Piano at the Penn State School of Music, with Enrico Elisi.

PETER CIRKA

Pianist Peter Cirka was born and raised in Chester County, PA, and moved to Ithaca, NY in 2002 to pursue a Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance at Ithaca College, studying with Read Gainsford and Jennifer Hayghe. In 2006, Mr. Cirka won the Ithaca College Concerto Competition, playing Tchaikovsky's First Piano Concerto with the college's Symphony Orchestra. In the spring of that year, he received First Prize in Ithaca College's annual Mary Hayes North Recital Competition.

After receiving his undergraduate degree in 2006, Mr. Cirka continued to perform and teach in Ithaca for two years. He served on the faculty of the Community School for Music and Arts (CSMA) from 2006-2008, where he taught a broad spectrum of students and performed in several faculty showcase recitals. Well-respected at Ithaca College, he also worked there as a Staff Pianist from 2006-2008, developing a deep repertoire of collaborative music and extensive accompanying experience. Notably, he accompanied over twenty-five full vocal recitals and several large-scale duo recitals, including the Rachmaninoff Cello Sonata and Brahms Violin Sonatas. Additionally, he served as the Choral Pianist in 2006 at SUNY Cortland under director Stephen Wilson.

In 2008, Mr. Cirka began graduate study for a Master’s of Music in Piano Performance and Pedagogy at Penn State University, where he was awarded a full scholarship as a Graduate Assistant and a Graham Fellowship Grant. He currently studies under Enrico Elisi, a protege of Leon Fleisher, and teaches private and class piano as a graduate assistant. Mr. Cirka resides in State College, Pennsylvania.