Known for their adrenalized performances, original compositions, and notorious music videos, *Greg Anderson* and *Elizabeth Joy Roe* are revolutionizing the piano duo experience for the 21st century. Described as “Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers transposed from the dance floor to the keyboard” (Southampton Press) and “the intense synchronization of genius” (ThirdCoast Digest), Anderson and Roe aim to make classical music a relevant and powerful force around the world. Their most recent album, When Words Fade (Steinway Label), was released to critical acclaim in 2012 and spent nearly a dozen weeks at the top of the Billboard Classical Charts, while their wildly creative, self-produced music videos have been viewed by millions on YouTube. Highlights of the 2012-13 season include tours in China, Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore, and their orchestral debuts with the Hartford, Lafayette, and Santa Fe symphony orchestras.
Mr. Anderson and Ms. Roe met in 2000 as freshmen at The Juilliard School and formed their dynamic musical partnership shortly thereafter. They have since toured extensively, with notable recitals in Vancouver, Beijing, Seoul, Singapore, Italy, and most major US cities, as well as in nearly every New York City venue imaginable, from Carnegie Hall to children’s hospitals. Together they have appeared on MTV’s Total Request Live, NPR’s All Things Considered and From the Top, APM’s Performance Today, the Cliburn Concert Series, the Gina Bachauer International Piano Festival, and dozens of summer chamber music festivals. In recognition of their singular vision for the advancement of classical music, they have been invited to present at several international leader symposiums, including the EG (Entertainment Gathering), the Imagine Solutions Conference, Chicago Ideas Week, and Mexico’s Think Tank Festival for Brilliant Minds.
Mr. Anderson and Ms. Roe left an indelible impression at The Juilliard School, where they both earned their bachelor’s and master’s degrees. A live performance by the Anderson and Roe Piano Duo is included on the Sounds of Juilliard CD celebrating the school’s centennial year. In 2006, given only two months to compose and prepare, they gave the world premiere of their own composition “Star Wars Fantasy: Four Impressions for Two Pianos,” replacing John Williams on Juilliard’s “Cinema Serenades” concert in Alice Tully Hall. Additionally, the two directed the groundbreaking project “Life Between the Keys,” an event that involved the entire Juilliard Piano Class of 2004; this event celebrated the class’s unique camaraderie and chronicled its Juilliard experience in an all-American program of piano music.
Anderson and Roe believe strongly in the communicative potential of music, and their performances, compositions, websites, videos, recordings, and writings all serve this mission, bringing joy to people around the world. As the Northwest Reverb recently stated, “[Anderson and Roe] swept the audience into a cheering mass of humanity, making a strong case that playing piano is the most fun thing that two people could ever do together.”
Greg Anderson and Elizabeth Joy Roe are Steinway Artists.
