UAM Division of Music To Host Piano Concert Featuring National Young Artist Winner

MONTICELLO, Ark. — On Thursday, September 11, the University of Arkansas at Monticello (UAM) Division of Music, in collaboration with the SEARK Concert Association, National Federation of Music Clubs (NFMC), Monticello Music Club and Pine Bluff Musical Coterie, will host a piano concert featuring Misha Galant, the 2025 National Federation of Music Clubs’ (NFMC) Young Artist winner. The concert will begin at 7 p.m. in the Harris Recital Hall in the Music Building at UAM and will last approximately one hour. This event is free and open to the public.

Born into a family of musicians, Galant began piano lessons at the age of six with his mother, Olya Katsman. During high school, he studied under Sharon Mann and Yoshikazu Nagai of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He went on to graduate from Columbia University, where he participated in the Columbia-Juilliard Exchange, studying piano with Joseph Kalichstein while earning degrees in data science and Russian literature. In 2023, Galant completed a master’s degree in piano performance under Dr. Viktor Valkov, followed in 2025 by a master’s degree in atmospheric sciences from the University of Utah under Dr. John Horel. His additional mentors include Tatiana Zelikman of the Gnesin School in Moscow and Dr. Yu-Jane Yang of Weber State University in Utah.

Galant has performed as a soloist with the Fort Worth, Rochester, Utah and Oakland symphonies, among others, and has won prizes at the Gina Bachauer, New Orleans, Eastman and inaugural Van Cliburn Junior International Piano Competitions. In 2020, he was named one of only two Gilmore Young Artists in the United States. In March 2022, he organized and performed a benefit concert for Ukraine, raising $8,500 in humanitarian aid. Beyond his musical and academic achievements, he enjoys hiking, skiing and trail running and was a member of Columbia University’s Division I swim team.

For more information about the concert, contact Mark Sullivan at sullivanm@uamont.edu or 870-460-1060.