Edward Forstman

Drawn to opera through contemporary music, pianist Edward Forstman seeks out  collaborations and opportunities to bring fresh perspectives and new stories to the opera and  concert stage. He has worked with composer Whitney George on the premieres of her operas  Julie (New Camerata Opera) and Princess Maleine (dell’Arte Opera Ensemble) and with Andrea  Clearfield for the premiere of Mila, Great Sorcerer (Prototype Festival). In the summer 2021  season, Edward will be a Tomita Young Artist vocal coach and collaborative pianist at Finger  Lakes Opera in Canandaigua, New York. Edward was scheduled to be the rehearsal pianist for  dell’Arte Opera Ensemble’s summer 2020 production of Anna Bolena, which was cancelled due  to Covid-19. 

During the pandemic, he has presented virtual concerts with soprano AddieRose Forstman for the  Downtown Music at Grace series in Westchester, NY, and the Songs from Hibernation series  hosted by dell’Arte Opera Ensemble. These programs were celebrations of American art song,  and included works by Eve Beglarian, Nailah Nombeko, Nico Muhly, Brad Mehldau, and the  premiere of two songs by Maria Thompson Corley. Edward and AddieRose also recorded  performances of works by Corley and Yvonne Fuller for Christman Opera Company’s virtual  project Voices Raising Voices. Other projects of this season have included recording two radio  plays (one upcoming), scored by Whitney George, with members of the contemporary chamber  ensemble The Curiosity Cabinet, conducted by the composer. 

Since completing his Master’s degree in Contemporary Piano Performance at the Manhattan  School of Music, Edward has worked as a vocal studio pianist at Sarah Lawrence College and as  a pianist and coach for the Contemporary Opera Ensemble (COE) at the Manhattan School of  Music. With COE, he coached and rehearsed a workshop of REV. 23, by Julian Wachner, in  preparation for its presentation at the 2020 Prototype Festival. Originally from Birmingham,  Alabama, Edward performed a series of solo concerts featuring composers of the Birmingham  Art Music Alliance in the 2019-2020 season. In the same season, Edward made various  appearances as an orchestral keyboardist with The Orchestra Now (TŌN). He served as a pianist  and celestist for TŌN, led by Maestro Leon Botstein, in their Carnegie Hall concert of  Stravinsky’s The Fairy’s Kiss and rarely heard works by Othmar Schoeck and Dimitri  Mitropoulos (recorded and released by Bridge Records), as well as playing in the pit for REST IN  PIECES, conducted by Maestro James Bagwell and directed by Stephanie Blythe, at the Richard  B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts.  

In addition to a Master’s degree in Contemporary Piano Performance from the Manhattan School of Music, where he studied with Margaret Kampmeier, Christopher Oldfather, and Anthony De Mare, Edward holds a Bachelor’s degree in Piano Performance from the Eastman School of Music.