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New Zealand collaborative pianist Gracie Francis talks to RNZ Concert's Bryan Crump ahead of her Julliard music school doctoral recital. Video, Audio
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Pianist Gracie Francis Photo: MAREK BIELA - 508-654-7515
Gracie Francis grew up in a team environment.
When her twin sister played the violin, Francis played the piano.
That unspoken communication, when two or more fine performers make music together, is second nature to the Waikato-raised musician.
This weekend Francis will perform her final recital for her Doctorate of the Musical Arts at the Julliard School of Music.
Luckily for us, the wonders of modern technology mean that the recital is taking place not in New York, USA, but at the Auckland School of Music.
On the programme is music by Beethoven, Schumann, Ravel and Gareth Farr, which she'll perform with violinist Lara Hall, and horn player Lucie Krysatis.
Francis says the Julliard School's flexibility made a New Zealand doctoral recital possible. She just has to make sure a verifiable video and recording gets to her examiners in New York.
The pianist had already established herself accompanying choirs and performers around Auckland, prior to her stint at Julliard, but had always had a desire for further study.
She won a Fulbright Scholarship to study in the USA and applied to Julliard not necessarily expecting to get in - but why not aim high?
One of the surprises during her time at the prestigious music school was discovering how many other musicians were collaborators like her. Francis had expected to find a hotbed of single-minded solo performers.
The good news for New Zealand is that while she loved New York, she would rather live in a smaller city.
Francis continues to make music with her twin sister, who is now a violinist based in Hamburg, Germany. After her doctoral recital in Auckland, she's off to Germany.
We hope by the time she returns to Aotearoa, Gracie will be a Dr Francis.