A Spring Afternoon with Sophia and Friends

Written by: Jesse Jenkins
Published: Wednesday, April 4, 2018

The first Friday afternoon of Spring 2018 brings an exciting concert to campus — acclaimed pianist Sophia Agranovich will be joined by two of her exceptional students, Mohammed Boubendir and Robert Argasinski. David Dubal, internationally known pianist, author, broadcaster and painter will introduce musical selections from composers such as Beethoven, Chopin and Liszt. The event is the first in the 2018-2019 Rauch Family Foundation Charitable Trust Concert Series at NJIT.

Sofia Argranovich performs as part of the 2018-2019 Rauch Family Foundation Charitable Trust Concert Series at NJIT.

Agranovich has performed with prominent musicians and orchestras internationally. Her widely broadcast recordings and performances have received outstanding reviews, and she was recently honored by Prestige Music Awards and Global Music Awards. A native of Ukraine, Agranovich won the Ukrainian Young Artists competition at age 10. She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees at The Juilliard School.

Agranovich has also received numerous teaching awards, and is fostering the competition-winning talent of 15-year-old Mohamed Boubendir, son of NJIT Associate Professor of Mathematics Yassine Boubendir. Mohamed gave his first concert at age 11, only one year after he started playing the piano. Robert Argasinski, an 18-year-old computer science major enrolled in NJIT’s Albert Dorman Honors College, is a competition-winning virtuoso pianist and prolific composer who has performed at Carnegie Hall and Merkin Hall. 

A Juilliard faculty member, Dubal has performed, conducted master classes, judged competitions and lectured worldwide. Dubal’s authoritative books include The Art of the Piano, The Essential Canon of Classical Musicand Evenings with Horowitz. His video, The Golden Age of the Piano, has won an Emmy Award. Dubal currently shares his musical acumen on WQXR and WWFM.

Co-sponsors: Music at NJIT, NJIT Technology, Science, Art and Society Forum, Albert Dorman Honors College, and Sigma Xi.

NJIT welcomes attendees from all area colleges and universities.

For more information: Contact Jay Kappraff at kappraff@njit.edu.