With playing that has been praised for its clarity, elegance, and expressive warmth, pianist Sivan Etedgee performs frequently throughout the Boston area both as a soloist and as a chamber musician. Noted for his creative programming, he has in recent years presented programs exploring themes as diverse as jazz-influenced music from the Americas and Europe to music written by composers who perished during the Holocaust. Committed to making classical music accessible and understandable to diverse audiences, Sivan establishes an easy rapport with his audiences, frequently giving commentary on the music throughout the concert.
Sivan has appeared at venues including The Wellesley Public Library in Wellesley, MA, “Music at the Meetinghouse” in Lebanon, NH, Brooklyn Public Library’s Dweck Center in Brooklyn, NY, and the Beverly Hills Presbytarian Church in Los Angeles, CA. He has participated in the Apple Hill and Green Mountain Chamber Music Festivals, and gives frequent recitals both as a soloist and with colleagues in churches, synagogues, schools and retirement communities throughout New England. Having a special interest in music written during the Holocaust, Sivan has extensively researched and performed this repertoire, focusing mainly on the Czech composers Erwin Schulhoff, Viktor Ullmann, and Gideon Klein. He has given well-received lecture-recitals on this topic, and was invited to present his paper “Viktor Ullmann’s Variations on a Hebrew Folk-Song as a Means of Resistance” at the American Musicological Society meeting in November 2011 and at Arizona State University’s Jewish Music Conference in March 2012. Sivan was a founding member of Somerville’s Serenata Chamber Musicians, and was the founder and director of Concerts at St. John’s, a concert series in Dedham, MA where he received a Massachusetts Cultural Council Grant to support bringing live music to the Dedham community. He is currently the music director at St. Stephen’s United Methodist Church in West Roxbury, MA.
A dedicated and enthusiastic educator, Sivan has been teaching piano since the age of 16, when he exchanged piano lessons for tutoring in geometry. He received his initial formal training in piano pedagogy with Arlene Kies at the University of New Hampshire, where he taught through the Piano Extension Project (PEP). Sivan currently teaches a studio of 20-30 students ranging from young children to retired adults. He has been a faculty member of the Newton Music Academy since 2006, teaches out of his home in Newton, MA, and serves on the board of the New England Piano Teachers’ Association.
Sivan earned his B.A. in Music at the University of New Hampshire, where he received a full scholarship to study with Professor Christopher Kies. He completed his Master of Music degree in piano performance at Boston University’s College of Fine Arts in the class of Anthony di Bonaventura, and has done post-graduate studies at the Hartt School of Music with renowned pedagogue Luiz de Moura Castro.