Andrew Parr, a native of Northeast Ohio, began piano study at the age of five. He furthered his education at Kent State University, at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Vienna, Austria (as the recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship), and at Yale University, where he earned both the Master and Doctor of Musical Arts Degrees. Among his teachers have been Claude Frank, Tung Kwong-Kwong, Noel Flores, Dieter Weber, Marcel Ciampi (in Paris, France) and Ward Davenny. At Yale University, composer Aaron Copland said of Parr's performance of his Piano Variations, "...he performed the work as though he had written it himself."
Since moving to Texas in 1983 to join the faculty at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Parr has performed extensively in solo, chamber and concerto settings. Some highlights have been performances of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major with the Ft. Worth Chamber Orchestra, the Aaron Copland Piano Concerto with the Belgrade Philharmonic in the former Yugoslavia, and Chopin's Concerto No. 2 in F Minor on tour with the San Antonio Symphony. Other concerto performances have included Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 3 in C, Brahms’s Concerto No. 2 in B-flat, Schumann’s Concerto in A Minor, Mendelssohn’s Concerto No. 1 in G Minor, Beethoven's Choral Fantasy, Beethoven's Triple Concerto, Mozart's Concerto for Two Pianos, and Gerald Finzi’s Ecologue.
In 1991 Parr was invited to judge piano examinations in several cities throughout Taiwan and to teach in Seoul, Korea. For over ten years he was a member of the Sylvan Chamber Ensemble, a piano trio listed on the Texas Commission of the Arts touring roster, and he continues to perform in a duo-piano team with his wife, Linda Parr. At Stephen F. Austin State University, Parr was awarded the Teaching Excellence Award for the College of Fine Arts in 1994. He has been a presenter and judge for local and state level events of the Texas Music Teacher Association throughout the state. In 2016 he was honored at the TMTA state convention in Dallas, receiving the Outstanding Collegiate Teaching Achievement Award.
In recent years Parr has continued to present guest recitals and master classes at universities in Texas, regionally, and in international venues such as Hong Kong. In May, 2009 Dr. Parr presented the lecture “The Eastern European Frédéric Chopin; Rhythmic Aspects of Chopin’s Rubato” at the European Piano Teachers Association Conference, held in Novi Sad, Serbia. He was invited in summer, 2013 to join the piano faculty at the Vienna Piano Academy in Vienna, Austria. He helped to create the First International Piano Camp for piano students in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic in summer, 2015. In summer, 2016 he was included among the artist faculty of the Interharmony Music Festival in Arcidosso, Italy, and in November, 2016 he served on the jury of the Second International Iberoamericano Competition for Young Pianists, held in Santo Domingo, D.R. Most recently, Parr was invited to return to present a solo recital and master classes at two universities in Hong Kong, and also to teach master classes at the Central Conservatory and Renmin University of China in Beijing, as well as in Datong, People’s Republic of China.
Since moving to Texas in 1983 to join the faculty at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Parr has performed extensively in solo, chamber and concerto settings. Some highlights have been performances of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major with the Ft. Worth Chamber Orchestra, the Aaron Copland Piano Concerto with the Belgrade Philharmonic in the former Yugoslavia, and Chopin's Concerto No. 2 in F Minor on tour with the San Antonio Symphony. Other concerto performances have included Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 3 in C, Brahms’s Concerto No. 2 in B-flat, Schumann’s Concerto in A Minor, Mendelssohn’s Concerto No. 1 in G Minor, Beethoven's Choral Fantasy, Beethoven's Triple Concerto, Mozart's Concerto for Two Pianos, and Gerald Finzi’s Ecologue.
In 1991 Parr was invited to judge piano examinations in several cities throughout Taiwan and to teach in Seoul, Korea. For over ten years he was a member of the Sylvan Chamber Ensemble, a piano trio listed on the Texas Commission of the Arts touring roster, and he continues to perform in a duo-piano team with his wife, Linda Parr. At Stephen F. Austin State University, Parr was awarded the Teaching Excellence Award for the College of Fine Arts in 1994. He has been a presenter and judge for local and state level events of the Texas Music Teacher Association throughout the state. In 2016 he was honored at the TMTA state convention in Dallas, receiving the Outstanding Collegiate Teaching Achievement Award.
In recent years Parr has continued to present guest recitals and master classes at universities in Texas, regionally, and in international venues such as Hong Kong. In May, 2009 Dr. Parr presented the lecture “The Eastern European Frédéric Chopin; Rhythmic Aspects of Chopin’s Rubato” at the European Piano Teachers Association Conference, held in Novi Sad, Serbia. He was invited in summer, 2013 to join the piano faculty at the Vienna Piano Academy in Vienna, Austria. He helped to create the First International Piano Camp for piano students in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic in summer, 2015. In summer, 2016 he was included among the artist faculty of the Interharmony Music Festival in Arcidosso, Italy, and in November, 2016 he served on the jury of the Second International Iberoamericano Competition for Young Pianists, held in Santo Domingo, D.R. Most recently, Parr was invited to return to present a solo recital and master classes at two universities in Hong Kong, and also to teach master classes at the Central Conservatory and Renmin University of China in Beijing, as well as in Datong, People’s Republic of China.