Summitt Pianos in Chattanooga has received news from Steinway & Sons that the Kantorski-Pope Duo have been named as Steinway Ensemble Artists. Ann Pope of Chattanooga and Valrie Kantorski of Toledo, Ohio, join a distinguished international roster of Steinway Artists including Billy Joel, Diana Krall, Harry Connick Jr, Lang Lang and past music greats such as Irving Berlin, Cole Porter and Sergei Rachmaninoff.
They also share the same status with other ensembles such as the Anderson & Roe Piano Duo and The 5 Browns.
H.A. "Buddy" Shirk, manager, Summitt Pianos, welcomed the Kantorski-Pope to this exclusive roster adding: “I could not be happier to see such talented musicians and artists appointed to the Steinway
Artist roster.
Locally, Ann Pope is someone we all admire and respect and we were thrilled with both ladies when they performed at our store."
The Kantorski-Pope Piano Duo was formed in 1988. The Duo is a three-time winner of first prize
in the Graves Duo-Piano Competition. The two-piano ensemble was awarded the Virginia E. Schrader Residency in the performing arts from the Toledo Museum of Art in conjunction with the national touring exhibition entitled Impressionism. In addition, the duo was selected for membership in the Touring Artists Program of the Ohio Arts Council. Other activities have included performances with the Toledo Symphony Orchestra, appearances on Public Radio and Television, and participation in the New Music and Arts Festival sponsored by the MidAmerican Center for Contemporary Music. The duo has recently released a recording of the Brahms Hungarian Dances on the Whaling City Sound label.