TRYON, N.C. - TelAve -- With the summer season drawing to a close, communities throughout Western North Carolina and the South Carolina Upstate are brimming with excitement in anticipation of a recital by internationally renowned pianist Awadagin Pratt on Saturday, Oct. 3, at the Tryon Fine Arts Center.

Since winning the Naumburg International Piano Competition in 1992 and receiving an Avery Fisher Career Grant in 1994, Pratt has earned acclaim for delivering "forceful, imaginative and precisely tinted" performances, according to The Washington Post. WGBH has hailed him as "one of the great and distinctive American pianists and conductors of our time."

Pratt is currently a piano professor at the prestigious San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

The first half of the recital will feature music by American-born composers. The concert will benefit the newly established Nina Simone and Samuel Waymon Music Scholarship Fund, named in honor of the late music icon, social activist and Tryon native Nina Simone, born Eunice Waymon, and her brother, composer, actor, lecturer and arranger Dr. Samuel L. Waymon.

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The scholarship fund supports young musicians in the southeastern United States who demonstrate exceptional talent and dedication to music. Selection is based solely on talent, passion and commitment to the craft.

Applications are currently open and must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. EST Jan. 15, 2027.

Fiscal sponsorship for the Nina Simone and Samuel Waymon Music Scholarship Fund is provided by The AFRICAN CONNECTIONS Research and Education Fund Inc. (ACREF), a federally recognized tax-exempt organization: https://africanconnections.com/simone_waymon.html

Use of the Tryon Fine Arts Center facility has been made possible through the generous support of music patrons Ben Cox and Elizabeth Cummings. Additional support is actively sought from the business community.

Known locally as "The Friendliest Town in the South," Tryon is nestled at the base of the Blue Ridge Escarpment in the Thermal Belt region of Western North Carolina. Tryon is a center for the fine arts, outdoor pursuits and equestrian activity.

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The Tryon Fine Arts Center is well-positioned among the most important regional performing arts centers in the eastern United States. It is within a comfortable driving distance of Asheville, Hendersonville, Spartanburg, Greenville, Brevard, eastern Tennessee and the Charlotte metropolitan area.

Catered by The Hare and Hound, a post-concert meet-and-greet will be held in the TFAC lobby immediately following Pratt's performance on Oct. 3.

Tickets are available through the Tryon Fine Arts Center and online at: https://app.arts-people.com/?show=338870

Additional information is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, by calling 831-440-7002.