Pianist Patricia Prattis Jennings to Play at Church's 50th Anniversary Concert

The Unitarian Universalist Church of the North Hills will present pianist Patricia Prattis Jennings at its 50th anniversary concert.

The 7:30 p.m. show by the former principal keyboardist of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra will be held Saturday, April 14, at the church at 2359 W. Ingomar Road in Franklin Park.

Jennings will present, and talk about, the world's most popular piano pieces, including those by George Gershwin, one of her favorites.  

She became the first African-American woman to be awarded a full contract by a major American symphony orchestra, breaking centuries of discrimination in the world of classical music. 

In 1966 she became the principal keyboardist for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra playing piano, harpsichord, organ and celesta.

She gained critical acclaim for her performance of the Gershwin Concerto in F on the Pittsburgh Symphony's 1987 international tour when she appeared at festivals in Hong Kong, Osaka, Tokyo, and Edinburgh, Scotland.  

She is a Steinway piano artist and was honored in 1999 as a Distinguished Daughter of Pennsylvania.

Pine-Richland Patch encourages readers to submit information about happenings in the community. Susan Cox of Unitarian Universalist Church of the North Hills provided this information. If you have news and photos you'd like to share, please email Editor Cindy Cusic Micco at cindy.micco@patch.com.