Jan 17
Masterclass with Vijay Iyer
Vijay Iyer presents a piano masterclass open to Carleton students, faculty, staff and the community!
Composer-pianist VIJAY IYER (pronounced “VID-jay EYE-yer”) was described by Pitchfork as
"one of the most interesting and vital young pianists in jazz today,"; by the Los Angeles Weekly
as “a boundless and deeply important young star,” and by Minnesota Public Radio as “an
American treasure.” A Grammy nominee, Vijay Iyer has been voted DownBeat Magazine’s
Artist of the Year four times - in 2018, 2016, 2015 and 2012. Iyer was also named
DownBeat’s 2014 Pianist of the Year, a 2013 MacArthur Fellow, and a 2012 Doris Duke
Performing Artist.
Born and raised in upstate New York, Iyer studied violin from age 3 to 18 and was self-taught
on piano. Living in the SF Bay Area in the 1990s, Iyer worked with composer-saxophonist
Steve Coleman, trombonist-composer-theorist George Lewis, and author-performer-activist
Amiri Baraka. Iyer moved to New York in 1998, and subsequently collaborated with Wadada
Leo Smith, Roscoe Mitchell, Butch Morris, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Steve Lehman, Craig
Taborn, Tyshawn Sorey, poet Mike Ladd, novelist Teju Cole, writer/bandleader Greg Tate,
filmmaker Prashant Bhargava, rapper Himanshu Suri, and many other artists across genres
and disciplines.
Iyer is the Franklin D. and Florence Rosenblatt Professor of the Arts in the Department of
Music at Harvard University, and the director of the Banff International Workshop in Jazz and
Creative Music. He is a Steinway artist.
This event is free and open to the public. No ticket or reservation is required to attend.