About Nada
In her early performances, she was noted as “a musician to her fingertips” and “a pure moment of grace.” Hearing a concert by Nada is an experience that “will not soon be forgotten.”
Nada Maria Loutfi, pianist, is a native of Beirut. Her early piano training was hampered by the unrelenting civil war and terrorism, which also cost her mother’s life in a mortar explosion.
After seven years of playing the piano, Nada was admitted to the Paris Conservatory. She was the first woman from the Middle East to take First Prize. She pursued advanced studies at Indiana University and the Banff Center for the Arts.
Her performances have taken her from Europe and the Middle East to Canada, Australia, and the US. Engagements have included Salle Gaveau (Paris), Salzburg Festival, Louisville Orchestra, Dayton Arts Institute, Kilburn Hall (Eastman School of Music), the Jupiter Symphony (New York City), Dame Myra Hess Series (Chicago), prestigious events for the ministry of France and the President of the United States .Live broadcasts include NPR’s Performance Today; Radio-France; WHASTV (ABC affiliate), French National TV & Radio, Arab international channels.
Nada is the founder of Purely Piano Inc., in Louisville, Kentucky, a nonprofit organization which has sponsored recitals by piano soloists in both intimate settings and in schools. About her performances the Courier Journal writes “her technique is prodigious, her performance was astounding.” She traveled the State of Kentucky introducing rural and mountain communities, hospital patients and prison populations to classical music through solo and group performances. Late master Gyorgy Sebok and a member of its advisory board said about her and her work as a pioneer; “a hero of the Arts.”
Nada has directed a new music series at the Pen and Brush in New York City, a series of solo recitals featuring a wide variety of traditional repertoire as well as the music of Lebanese composer E. Rahbani. Recently, her latest CD was released featuring music by New York based composer Eugene Marlowe, and she has been involved in performances with the New York composers’ circle.
Nada is now hosting the Classical Hour Concert Series in Louisville, Kentucky and is preparing a number of CD recordings and podcasts.