LAWRENCE SCHUBERT  has cultivated his performing and teaching careers with equal enthusiasm and has established an outstanding reputation on Long Island in both roles.

 

A problem with his hands led Mr. Schubert to retire from concertizing in June of 1997, but he continues to pursue his lifelong passion for  excellence in music education.

 

As a private teacher, Mr. Schubert particularly enjoys the critical process of guiding young beginners at the earliest stages, yet for the accomplished student of advanced repertoire, he offers the authoritative and knowledgeable perspective of an acclaimed concert artist.  Whether with 6-year-olds or adults, Mr. Schubert believes in constructively focusing instruction on the musical personality of the individual.

 

In addition to his extensive teaching schedule at his home in Centerport, Mr. Schubert teaches on the faculty at the Long Island High School for the Arts (formerly the Nassau BOCES Cultural Arts Center), where he gives classes in harmony and ear training, and coaches chamber ensembles and piano duos.  His text Introduction to Four-Part Harmony is used for his classes at the school, (for more information, click onto the Harmony Book page).  Previously, he taught for thirteen years in the music department at Molloy College and gave courses for the general public through the Touro College Post-Graduate Continuing Education Program.

 

As a performer, Mr. Schubert has received outstanding critical acclaim for his four major New York recitals at Town Hall and the Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall.  The New York Times praised him as "a superior pianistic talent" and "a patrician musical intellect."  He has performed in eight states for concert halls, colleges, museums, libraries, and radio broadcasts.  Mr. Schubert has been heard as recitalist at the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. and in London, at both Wigmore Hall and the Purcell Room.  He has performed as soloist in Venezuela with the Orquesta Sinfonica de Maracaibo and his performance of the Rachmaninoff Concerto No. 2 with the South Carolina Philharmonic was broadcast nationwide.

 

Here on Long Island, Mr. Schubert has given more than 125 solo recitals, including a program for the Hofstra University International Series.  He has also enjoyed playing in unconventional venues, such as private homes, public schools, piano stores (10 recitals), and the Vanderbilt Museum Planetarium (12 recitals with commentary and visual projections).

 

Mr. Schubert's CD of music by the Hungarian pianist-composer Ernö Dohnányi was released internationally by the Naxos label in 2003.  The American Record Guide "warmly recommended" the recording and praised Mr. Schubert as "an eloquent exponent of this literature" (click onto the CD page for more information).

 

Before embarking on his career in classical music, Mr. Schubert was also involved in the world of jazz.  He played for several years in a quartet with saxophonist Steve Grossman, just prior to Grossman's tours with Miles Davis and Elvin Jones.  Although he never pursued jazz professionally, he enjoyed the experience of sitting in with jazz greats like Elvin Jones (seven times, as the result of Elvin's invitation to return "any time"), Paul Chambers, Wilbur Ware, Tommy Turrentine, Joe Farrell, Frank Foster, Elliot Zigmund, Lee Konitz, Pepper Adams, Clark Terry, etc.