Center Stage with Roya Weyerhaeuser

Ms. Roya Weyerhaeuser, will present a unique workshop and performance for Cape Fear Community College students at the Allan and Laura Wilson Humanities and Fine Arts Center on Tuesday, June 7, 2016 at 2 p.m. The workshop is open to all area students and community members. There is no cost to attend the workshop, but individuals planning to attend must secure a ticket.

Weyerhaeuser will talk one-on-one with students and guests and will share stories from her journey to becoming a concert pianist. In addition to sharing the knowledge she has gained along the way, she will play a few meaningful selections and also participate in a Q&A with the audience. The June workshop will be the first time Weyerhaeuser has played in the Center, and she will be one of the first to play on the Center’s new custom designed Steinway grand piano.

“My goal is to help our local students get where they want to be,” said Weyerhaeuser. “I have worked hard for many years to develop and perfect my musical skills, and I have had a successful career because of that. I now want to share my experiences to help our CFCC students succeed as well.”

Tremendous supporters of the arts in Wilmington, Roya and her husband Henry have worked tirelessly to support a variety of essential non-profit organizations in the Cape Fear region. Among those organizations is Cape Fear Community College. The Weyerhaeuser’s recently made a very generous gift to the Humanities and Fine Arts Center naming the stage and parterres. “The Center wouldn’t be the success it is today without the generous support from valued community members like Roya and Henry Weyerhaeuser,” said Shane Fernando, Director of the Humanities and Fine Arts Center. “To have Roya play our new Steinway on the stage that she herself helped to make a reality is such a gift to our students. This is a once in a lifetime experience that they will never forget.”

Weyerhaeuser was born in Iran, and studied at the Tehran Conservatory of Music at the age of six. At the age of nine she made her solo recital debut performing Grieg’s Sonata in E Minor Op. 7. In 1979, she moved to the United States and attended The Juilliard School, where she studied music with Adele Marcus and Richard Harris.

Throughout her distinguished career, she has performed across the United States and internationally with tours in England, Scotland, and Germany. Weyerhaeuser has collaborated with the New York Philharmonic and the North Carolina Symphony, and was featured as a guest artist and speaker for the Beethoven Society of Austria. Weyerhaeuser was awarded the Albert Schweitzer Medal for Artistry in Music, and was the first pianist to receive the award. She also won first prize at the esteemed Chopin Competition and Rachmaninoff Competition.