Alumni Profile: Annie Atonacos ’97
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The Long Way Home
Pianist Annie Antonacos ’97 has come full circle. By age 13, she had debuted with the Portland Symphony Orchestra. By 15, she’d left high school in Saco to be, in her words, “inspired and challenged” while studying with the music faculty at USM.
By 19, she had earned her degree and her career was in flight. She went on to earn a Ph.D. in piano performance from Indiana University, and she has performed around the world as a solo recitalist and chamber musician.
Today, at the ripe old age of 30, Antonacos is the one providing inspiration and challenges.
“Teaching always reinforces my work as a pianist,” says Antonacos. At USM she coaches chamber musicians and works closely with her one-time instructor, Professor Laura Kargul, co-teaching in the piano studio. “When you’re analyzing students’ technical and musical decisions all day, you just can’t come home and make your own bad decisions. It always reminds me not to be lazy and to really think through and ‘own’ every note.”
The system has worked to perfection. Her skill and range as a performer has led her to some of the world’s greatest music halls. She has performed in the Salle Cortot, Casa Orfeo, Holland’s Alkmaar Conservatory, and Alice Tully Hall. She has played across Europe, Russia, and the United States.
She first returned to USM in 2002 as an instructor, filling in when Kargul was on sabbatical. She came back a second time in 2003-2004 as Kargul battled breast cancer.
“It was an incredible gift to have Annie be available to take over,” Kargul says. Continuity is essential in piano training. Kargul’s students needed a replacement who would carry on Kargul’s philosophy, technique, and interpretations. “Having Annie here was a tremendous relief.”
She returned on a more permanent basis in January 2005, in part to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of her mentor Robert Glover. And she’s found that she’s far from alone.
“I was surprised actually, to learn what’s going on in the art scene in Portland,” she says. “There are some very accomplished musicians here. One of the draws of living here is it’s so close to Boston and its opportunities for performers.”
That appeal, in turn, gives schools like USM an advantage in selecting faculty.
“Prospective students look at the program with the level of detail and expectation commonly found in graduate students in other programs,” says Scott Harris, director of USM’s School of Music. “By the time our students get here, they’ve been studying in their field for maybe 10 years. They want to work with very accomplished faculty.”
With Antonacos, there’s no shortage of accomplishment. She won first place at the International Young Artist Music Competition in Bulgaria, and she holds prizes from the Capdepera International Piano Competition in Mallorca and the Indianapolis Matinee Musicale Competition.
And she can teach.
“She’s very demanding, she cares deeply about her students, and they know that,” Kargul says. “The trick is to be very demanding of them, but also to give them the tools to meet those demands. Annie does that.”
Those interested in hearing Antonacos perform can check her Web site: www.anastasiaantonacos.com.
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