Sophomore Louis Lohraseb, a composer and concert pianist from Schenectady, N.Y. has made quite an impact on the Geneseo music community as a student conductor and performer.
As a freshman, Lohraseb earned the respect of the students and faculty of the music department when he conducted performances of the Geneseo Symphony Orchestra and Geneseo Wind Ensemble. In addition, he arranged and conducted three George Gershwin pieces for Spectrum Women's Ensemble.
This semester, Lohraseb has already conducted by "Adagio" by Samuel Barber.
Lohraseb has been involved in the arts since age three. He said that after listening to Luciano Pavarotti as a small child, he developed an "infatuation" with opera and further pursued music through playing the piano and composing his own works. His love for music earned him national acclaim at an early age; he made appearances on "Figure It Out," "Live With Regis And Kathy Lee" and "The Rosie O'Donnell Show."
"I've probably written around 50 [compositions]," Lohraseb said, "which is nothing compared to Mozart." Lohraseb cited Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven and Frédéric Chopin as his favorite musicians and his inspiration when he composes.
Lohraseb is triple-majoring at Geneseo in conducting, piano performance and composition. He said that after graduating, he sees himself continuing to play piano while pursuing musicology. He said that he believes music gives a new perspective on everyday life and that musicians "have an important role in everyone's life."
Lohraseb will perform a piano recital on Sunday, Dec. 12 in Wadsworth Auditorium which will include works by Beethoven, Chopin, Barber, Franz Liszt and Robert Schumann.