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PERFORMANCE
Ms. Aitken has been taught and coached by an impressive array of pianists in the United States and abroad.  She was the youngest pupil of Alberto Mozzati (Conservatorio Verdi, Milan, Italy) before returning to the United States for study. She holds degrees in piano performance and accompanying from California State University Northridge and the University of Southern California, where she studied with Bernardo Segáll, Jacob Gimpel and Françoise Regnat, and harpsichord with Malcolm Hamilton. Her interest and expertise in music of the French style was rewarded with a grant from Mu Phi Epsilon for study in Paris with Françoise Labroquere, where she also received coaching from Gabriel Tacchino of the Paris Conservatory. In addition, she has been coached by André Watts, Daniel Pollack, John Perry, Jerome Lowenthal, and Charles Fierro.

• Extensive performing in concert as recital and concerto soloist and collaborative pianist throughout the United States and abroad, including Europe, Mexico, Japan
• Radio appearances including Vatican Radio, Rome and throughout Europe
• Pianist and keyboardist for film and television
• Guest artist for formal concerts and lecture-recitals on cruise to Russia, Korea and Japan
• Guest artist for CAPMT (MTNA) annual state conventions
• Annual and semi-annual performances and master classes in Tokyo since 1997
• “Salon” solo piano recital, Paris
• Solo piano concert for Italian Ambassador to the U.S., Bethesda, Maryland
• Guest performer for MTAC, CAPMT, Mu Phi Epsilon branches, District Conferences and Conventions
• Performances of many contemporary composers’ works including Adrienne Alpert (world premiere), Jacques Castérède, Fred Katz, Chen Yi, Carole Worthy (world premiere)
• Lecture-recitals for MTAC (California) and CPTF (North Carolina) teachers and audiences in Tokyo on topics including:
      Baroque Performance Practices
      French Piano Music
      Spanish Piano Music
      Comparison of French and Latin Piano Music Styles
      Latin Piano Music
      Piano Touch and Tone Color
      Accompanying Techniques
      Spanish and Latin Music from Beginners to Advanced
      How to Develop a Painfree Virtuoso Technique
          — in collaboration with Certified Hand Therapist Mark Bartholdi

“...Deborah performs with great conviction, sensitivity and power.  She is a fine playing partner,  flexible and accommodating while at the same time a real soloist at her instrument.” — David Shostac, flutist
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​WITH JACQUES CASTÉRÈDE

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RECORDING A RADIO BROADCAST FOR VATICAN RADIO, ROME

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​WITH DAVID SHOSTAC

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