Renowned Pianist Sergei Babayan Joins SMU Meadows as Artist in Residence

SMU Meadows School of the Arts announces that renowned pianist Sergei Babayan will join the faculty as the Joel Estes Tate Endowed Chair in Piano and Artist in Residence.

“We are thrilled to welcome Mr. Babayan to our growing community of world-renowned artists in Dallas and at SMU,” said Samuel S. Holland, Algur H. Dean of SMU Meadows School of the Arts.

Babayan, who is also on the faculty at The Juilliard School, is a winner of the Cleveland, Hamamatsu and Scottish International Piano Competitions and was a student of piano greats Georgy Sarajiev, Lev Naumov, Vera Gornostaeva and Mikhail Pletnev at the Moscow Conservatory. Along with his immense knowledge and experience in the art of piano, he will be bringing a talented group of students with him as he joins Meadows Division of Music.

“Mr. Babayan’s dual abilities as concert pianist and educator are unparalleled,” said Carol Leone, Chair of Piano Studies. “He has a deep commitment to the growth of young pianists and his artistry will undoubtedly have great impact on the future of the Meadows and Dallas arts communities.”

In addition to his educational expertise, Babayan has continued to perform with leading international orchestras, including the London Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Bamberg Symphony, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre National de Lille, Detroit Symphony Orchestra and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. He holds an exclusive recording contract with Deutsche Grammophon. His recent albums for the famous label include ‘Rachmaninoff’, which received the CHOC Classica and BBC Music Magazine awards, among others, and ‘Prokofiev for Two’, comprising Babayan’s own transcriptions performed with the legendary pianist Martha Argerich.

“I am eager to welcome Sergei Babayan to the faculty of the SMU Division of Music,” added Division of Music Director, Thomas Keck. “He is a world-renowned artist and pedagogue, and his influence on Meadows music students will be immediate and long-lasting.”