There is an old saying that when someone asked either Jascha Heifetz or Arthur Rubinstein how to get to Carnegie Hall, the answer was “Practice, Practice, Practice.” For pianist Lindsay Garritson, who began playing the violin at 3 and the piano at 5, practice was only part of the formula that brought her to Carnegie Hall in 2019 for her solo recital debut in the fabled venue. Education and talent were equally important in a journey that has led to performances with orchestras at home and abroad, and won her awards and acclaim.
Garritson received a bachelor’s degree in Music at Principia College, a master’s degree from the Yale School of Music and a doctoral degree from the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music. While working on her doctorate, she performed at the school in a 2017 concert. South Florida Classical Review described the event. “Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 2 is one of the most daunting works on the keyboard-orchestral repertoire. On Saturday night Lindsay Garritson met the concerto on its own terms in a terrific performance…Garritson is a pianist of formidable talent and earned the cheering ovation that followed the performance.”
In addition to Carnegie Hall, Garritson has appeared at the Kennedy Center and been a featured soloist with orchestras in the United States and abroad. She has received top prizes at the Montreal International Piano Competition, the Mozarteum International Chopin Competition in Salzburg and the USASU Bosendorfer International Piano Competition. She was invited as one of 30 participants internationally to compete in the 2013 Van Cliburn International Competition and was selected as one of six finalists worldwide for the 2014 German Piano Award in Frankfurt.
Garritson is an avid chamber musician and is a member of the Bergonzi Piano Trio with violinist Scott Flavin and cellist Ross Harbaugh. Their first album of Beethoven and Brahms trios was released in 2021.
She is a passionate advocate for new music, Garritson’s Carnegie Hall recital featured the world premiere of Australian composer Carl Vine’s Piano Sonata No. 4, which was written for her. Her second solo album, Aphorisms: Piano Music of Carl Vine, was released in 2020. She has recorded the complete works for flute and piano by Samuel Zyman and premiered works by David Ludwig, Nick Omiccioli and Polina Nazaykinskaya.
In a 2020 interview with the Cross-Eyed Pianist, Lindsay Garritson described what success as a musician meant to her. “I’ve come to realize that success as a musician can only truly be measured by how much one is enjoying what one does and how genuinely one is connecting with the audience, no matter the size or prestige. If I give a performance where even one person has found inspiration or comfort through the music, or I’ve managed to inspire a young musician to get excited about classical music, that, to me, is true success as a musician.”
Garritson lives in Jensen Beach. Come enjoy a local artist with an international following.
