Internationally-renowned pianist Kirill Gerstein joined the Mount Allison University community this January as the second annual Bragg Artist-in-Residence. Throughout the residency he conducted masterclasses, workshops, and worked with students in various Music courses.

Born in the former Soviet Union, Kirill Gerstein is an American citizen based in Berlin. At age 14 he moved to the United States where he became the youngest student to attend Boston’s Berklee College of Music.

Gerstein has played with prominent ensembles and orchestras across Europe and North America. In 2019-20 alone, he returned to Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, and San Diego symphonies, and launched a two-year cycle of the complete Rachmaninoff works for piano and orchestra with the Minnesota Orchestra. He also opened the Chicago Symphony’s piano series to mark Beethoven’s 250th anniversary. In addition to his international performance schedule, Gerstein also teaches at the Kronberg Academy’s Sir András Schiff Performance Program for Young Artists.

The Bragg Women Music Opportunities Fund was established at Mount Allison in 2017 by John Bragg, Mount Allison alumnus and past Chancellor, and his wife Judy, also a Mount Allison graduate. The fund honours five women in the Bragg family who made significant contributions to music education including: Zillah Bragg, Sylvia Bragg, Kathleen (Bragg) Sherman ('52), Carolyn (Bragg) Glennie ('58), and Lorraine (Bragg) Moore ('70). It helps support performance and experiential learning opportunities for Music students and brings artists of international calibre to campus through the Artist-in-Residence program.

See more about Kirill’s visit to campus: