We are very pleased to welcome Sonya Ovrutsky Fensome as the Director of the Steinert Piano Academy in Natick. Our students, of all ages, will benefit from her great talent and deep experience as a performer and music educator.
Sonya has taught piano in Spain, Russia, and the United States. In 2004 she founded the Main Line Music Academy in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, fulfilling her lifelong dream of creating a school dedicated to bringing the wonderful world of music to children of all ages. Now she is bringing this passion for teaching to the Steinert Piano Academy in Natick as we welcome students in our newly expanded performance and instructional studio.
An internationally acclaimed concert pianist and music educator, Sonya is a graduate of the Julliard School of Music, and has performed in major concert venues across the United States and around the world, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the Aspen Music Festival in the U.S., and the Palace de Beaux Arts in Brussels, Lucerne Music Festival in Switzerland, Moscow Conservatory Hall, and concert halls in Madrid, Zaragoza, Barcelona, Rome, and South Africa.
Sonya began her studies at the tender age of three under the guidance of her father Ilya Ovrutsky, who at the time was a soloist with the Bolshoi Theater Orchestra in Moscow. Believing that an early start is the best for a musician, Mr. Ovrutsky nurtured Sonya’s talent by exposing her to musical concepts using engaging teaching techniques in a form that was accessible to a young child. At the age of five, Sonya began taking piano lessons with her mother Alexandra, and continued her musical education at the Special School for Gifted Children in Moscow. Soon after 
Sonya was performing in concert halls of Moscow and other cities in Russia.
The recipient of numerous awards, Ms. Ovrutsky won the International Piano Competition in Senigalia, Italy at age fifteen. Soon after she was accepted at The Juilliard School, where she studied with Herbert Stessin. Subsequently she was awarded first prizes at the Aspen Music Festival Concerto Competition, Lehigh Valley–Juilliard Competition, the Elizabeth Harper Vaughn Competition in Kingsport, and special prizes at the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, Russia, and at the Pablo Sarasate Competition in Pamplona, Spain.
Ms.Ovrutsky regularly performs with her brother Mikhail, and has collaborated in concerts and master classes with Dorothy DeLay, Felix Galimir, David Kim, Robert McDuffie, Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman, Richard Woodhams, Zakhar Bron, and Vladimir Spivakov.
What People Are Saying About Sonya’s Teaching“Thanks for the wonderful evening. We enjoyed the performances immensely. I heard many, many performances of the Rach preludes. Your interpretation is refreshing, and your performance is second to none. Bravo! Our thanks also goes to Steinert & Sons company for nurturing/grooming the next generation of artists, and preserving the cultural tradition. We enjoyed our stay at your store.” – Ning Jiang, Providence RI, a parent whose daughter recently participated in a master class conducted by Sonya at the Steinert Piano Academy.
“This was an amazing experience. Sonya is an outstanding artist, wonderful musician and teacher, very warm with the audience. What a perfect match for the Steinert Piano Academy.” – Tamara Isaakov, Piano Teacher, Gnessin’s Music Institute, Moscow
Click here to see Sonya in action!
On Sunday, November 2nd, 2014 a WCRB special on the Steinway Society produced by Cathy Fuller took place. The performance included 6 performances by our 2014 winners !!!
IN LOVING MEMORY 
There was an extraordinary dedication recital 10/4/14 at Dover-Sherborn High School: extraordinary not only because of the talent of each performer—ranging from a rich operatic bass, a professional jazz pianist, DSHS students singing a capella, to a Chopin nocturne—but because each performer and audience member was connected to the Paganelli-O’Brien’s, a family who lost their twenty-one year old son Alexander a few years ago. The Friends of the Performing Arts, an organization of parents and community volunteers that promotes and supports the music and theater programs at DSHS, spearheaded a fundraising effort to donate a Steinway grand piano to DSHS to honor his memory, and the piano was unveiled for this incredible recital. Their work culminated in the dedication concert, emceed by Alex’s father Dr. Paul Paganelli, who also performed. Words cannot adequately express how exquisitely the community galvanized to create a perfect legacy to honor the memory of Alexander Paganelli, himself a pianist, composer, singer and athlete. A piece of Alex’s was performed at the concert. The 6’2” black shiny Steinway grand piano sang all night, and will continue to inspire and enrich students and community in Dover for generations. As the plaque on the piano reads: In Loving Memory, Alexander Paganelli, DSHS Class of 2008.
Sonya Ovrutsky Fensome Named Director of Steinert Piano Academy
Natick, MA (October 9, 2014): M. Steinert & Sons (www.staging-msteinertcom.kinsta.cloud), the nation’s oldest music retailer, has appointed Sonya Ovrutsky Fensome of Harvard, MA, as Director of the Steinert Piano Academy. The Steinert Piano Academy conducts individual and group piano lessons in a dedicated performance space inside M. Steinert & Sons’ showroom in The Natick Mall, on Route 9 in Natick, MA.
Sonya Ovrutsky Fensome is an internationally acclaimed concert pianist and music educator. She is a graduate of the Julliard School of Music, and has performed in major concert venues across the United States and around the world, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the Aspen Music Festival in the U.S., and the Palace de Beaux Arts in Brussels, Lucerne Music Festival in Switzerland, Moscow Conservatory Hall, and concert halls in Madrid, Zaragoza, Barcelona, Rome, and South Africa.
“We are fortunate to have Sonya Ovrutsky Fensome join our educational staff,” said Paul Murphy, Jr., president of M. Steinert & Sons. “Our students, of all ages, will benefit from her great talent and deep experience as a performer and educator.”
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
6:30 pm
M. Steinert & Sons
162 Boylston Street
Boston, MA 02116
Please join us for a recital by international concert artist Lise de la Salle. Ms. de la Salle will perform works by Mendelssohn, Prokofiev, and Chopin.
A reception with the artist will follow the recital.
Admission to this special event is free, but seating is limited. Please reserve your seat by ordering online or by calling (617) 426-1900.
About the Artist
Before the age of twenty, Lise de la Salle was already recognized as “a talent in a million” by Gramophone magazine. Lise has awed critics with her artistry and mesmerized audiences throughout the United States and Europe. Her most recently released recording, LISZT out now on Naive, received widespread critical acclaim in print and online.
Lise de la Salle has already had an impressive international career, performing at the major concert halls of Europe, the United Stated and Asia. She plays regularly with major orchestras and has worked with the conductors Fabio Luisi, Lorin Maazel, James Conlon, Osmo Vänskä, Philippe Herreweghe, Semyon Bychkov, Alexander Dimitriev, Lan Shui, James Gaffigan, Karl-Heinz Steffens, Lawrence Foster, Dennis Russel Davis and many others. She has also worked with Sir Charles Mackeras.
Her many festival appearances include the Ravinia Festival, La Folle Journée in Nantes and Tokyo, the Moritzburg Festival, Rheingau Music Festival, Weilburger Schlossfestspiele, Aspen Festival, and more.
Ms. de la Salle has plalyed concerts in London (Wigmore Hall), New York, Moscow, St. Petersburg, in Berlin (Philharmonie), in the Lousianna Museum, in Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Paris, Munich, Boston, Montréal, Copenhagen, Tokyo, Moritzburg, Lucerne, Buenos Aires and others, as well as Orchestra concerts with the Vienna Symphony in New York, with Boston Symphony, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Lucerne Symphony orchestra, NDR Hamburg, Orchestre National de France, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh Orchestra, NHKSO, the Tschechische Philharmonie, London Philhamonia, St. Petersburg Symphony orchestra, Staatskapelle Weimar, Chicago Symphony, Munich Philharmonic and many others.
She toured amongst with Bamberger Symphoniker, Orquesta Nacional do Porto and she will tour with the Dresdner Kapellsolisten (Southamerica), Prague Philharmonia, Rotterdam Philharmonia.
Born in 1988, Lise de la Salle started to play the piano at the age of four and gave her first concert, broadcast live by Radio France, when she was nine. From 2003 until 2005 she studied at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris – CNSM, where she enrolled the post-graduate cycle. From 1997 until 2004 she worked closely with Pascal Nemirowsky and has also been guided by Geneviève Joy-Dutilleux. Ms. de la Salle has won numerous competitions among them the first prize at the Young Concert Artists International Auditions in New York which gave her the opportunity to make her debut in New York and Washington.
Natick, MA (July 7, 2014): M. Steinert & Sons (www.staging-msteinertcom.kinsta.cloud), the nation’s oldest music retailer, has moved into a new, expanded showroom in The Natick Mall, on Route 9 in Natick, MA. The expanded showroom will feature a new performance hall, which will enable M. Steinert & Sons to host live piano performances. The additional space will also allow the company to expand its Piano Academy teaching program, and to provide additional room to display pianos from Steinway, Boston, Essex, and Roland.
“The success we have enjoyed since opening our Natick Mall showroom has been very gratifying,” said Paul Murphy, Jr., president of M. Steinert & Sons. “We are happy to have more space to build on our popular piano teaching programs, to give our customers access to a wider selection of pianos, and to support our mission of bringing happiness and helping improve the quality of life through music.”
M. Steinert & Sons first opened their showroom in The Natick Mall in November, 2011, after many years in a separate Natick location. The company also has a showroom in downtown Boston’s historic “Piano Row” district.
Founded in 1860, M. Steinert & Sons is the oldest music store in the United States. The company operates two showrooms, one in Steinert Hall in Boston’s historic “Piano Row” district on Boylston Street; and a second at The Natick Mall in Natick, MA. The company is the exclusive regional dealer for world-renowned Steinway & Sons pianos. For additional information visit www.staging-msteinertcom.kinsta.cloud.
# # #
Media Contact:
Bob Sheehan
Coastline Advertising
(617) 257-1354
Steinert Hall, the subterranean performance space that was built as part of the original Steinert Building in 1896 and served as one of Boston’s leading concert venues for nearly 50 years, was recently featured in a front-page article in the Boston Globe. The nostalgic article traced the history of the once-elegant hall, which has not hosted a public event in over 70 years.
Changing building codes and persistent water leaks (including a significant flood during construction of the Boston Common underground parking garage) have relegated Steinert Hall to duty as a storage space, while concerts and recitals have moved upstairs. While there has been occasional interest from outside groups for restoring Steinert Hall, the estimated $6 million cost remains a stumbling block. Steinert Hall remains a reminder of a time when the Boston music scene was among the world’s busiest and most prestigious.
1st Prize: Meghan Tan
2nd Prize: Dylan Wang
3rd Prize: Julius Arolovich and Justin Wang
Honorable Mentions: George Kiu, Rin Miyoshi, Emilia Spasojevic, Steven Zhang
1st Prize: Hannah Ryu and Avik Sarkar
2nd Prize: Christopher Zhu
3rd Prize: Fianna Ton
Honorable Mention: Kyle Chen
1st Prize: Kevin Chen and Peter Wang
2nd Prize: Kara Chuang
3rd Prize: Lauren Jiang
Honorable Mentions: Niklas Kniesche, Anna Larsen, Karen R. Ji, Geo Lee
1st Prize: Minji Kwon
2nd Prize: Bryan Alexander McGuiggin
3rd Prize: George Hu and Daniel Shaar
1st Prize: Christopher Staknys
2nd Prize: Phuong Nghi Tran Pham
3rd Prize: Yong Murray and Harvey Wu
Congratulations to all for their hard work and excellence in the competition.
We would like to thank this year’s judges:
Divisions 1, 2 and 3: Valentina Lass, Marina Magazinnik and Heng-Jin Park
Divisions 4,5: Tema Blackstone, Michael Lewin and Andrew Rangell.
CALL FOR ENTRIES
Applications are now being accepted for the 2013 Steinway Society of Massachusetts Piano Competition, to be held May 3-5. The competition is open to young pianists in grades 3-12, and is divided into five age groups. You can find out more information and download an entry form here. Or visit www.steinwaysocietyofmass.org.
Download Entry Form here.
Download Brochure here.
Boston, MA (November 26, 2012): Students at the Marblehead Village School are enjoying the sound of a brand new Roland digital piano, thanks to M. Steinert & Sons (www.staging-msteinertcom.kinsta.cloud), the nation’s oldest continuously operating music store. The Village School won the Roland FP-7 digital piano in a raffle conducted by M. Steinert & Sons’ Institutional Sales Department, which provides pianos and organs to schools, colleges and churches throughout New England.
“We are very pleased that a school like the Village School, with such an active and vibrant music curriculum, was the winner of our piano raffle,” said Brendan Murphy, Director of Institutional Sales at M. Steinert & Sons. “Our company has been involved in music education in the region for more than 150 years, and will continue to support schools and colleges who appreciate the value of a quality music education.”
For additional information call (617) 426-1900.
