Andrew Russo
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Andrew C. Russo (born October 22, 1975) is an American
pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...
. Russo was born in
Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...
,
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, and studied music in New York City and Europe. He started a nonprofit youth educational foundation in New York at the age of 25 and recorded albums in the 2000s. In 2005, Russo became director of music at
Le Moyne College Le Moyne College is a private Jesuit college in DeWitt, New York.http://www.ongov.net/planning/haz/documents/Section9.7-TownofDeWitt.pdf It was founded by the Society of Jesus in 1946 and named after Jesuit missionary Simon Le Moyne. At its fo ...
, where he works as an
artist in residence Artist-in-residence, or artist residencies, encompass a wide spectrum of artistic programs which involve a collaboration between artists and hosting organisations, institutions, or communities. They are programs which provide artists with space a ...
. He was an unsuccessful
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
candidate for the 49th
New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan com ...
district in the 2010 state election.


Early life and career

Russo was born to a father of the same name who played baseball as a catcher for the
Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...
. He is a native of
Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...
,
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, and graduated from Fayetteville-Manlius High School in 1993. Russo received his bachelor's and master's degrees from the
Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most el ...
in New York City and did post-graduate study in France and Germany. He participated in the
Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition The Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition is based in Salt Lake City, Utah and is the second largest piano competition in the United States. The competition has three age categories: the International Artists Competition for pianists age ...
in 1998, returned to New York at the age of 25, and created Music Journeys Inc., a nonprofit youth educational foundation. Russo played in the
Van Cliburn International Piano Competition The Van Cliburn International Piano Competition (The Cliburn) is an American piano competition by The Cliburn, first held in 1962 in Fort Worth, Texas and hosted by the Van Cliburn Foundation. Initially held at Texas Christian University, the co ...
in 2001, and released ''Voice of the Whale'', an album of songs by composer
George Crumb George Henry Crumb Jr. (24 October 1929 – 6 February 2022) was an American composer of avant-garde contemporary classical music. Early in his life he rejected the widespread modernist usage of serialism, developing a highly personal musical ...
, for the British label Black Box Records in 2002. Subsequent albums for Black Box, ''Corigliano: Violin Sonata; Etude Fantasy; Fantasia on an Ostinato; Chiaroscuro'' (2006), ''Aaron Jay Kernis: 100 Greatest Dance Hits'' (2007), ''Paul Schoenfield: Four Parables; Four Souvenirs; Café Music'' (2007), and ''Mix Tape'' (2008) received positive reviews by
Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
. Russo's 2007 album ''Dirty Little Secret'' for Endeavour Classics was favorably reviewed by
Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
and ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''.


Politics

In November 2009, Russo announced his candidacy for the 49th
New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan com ...
district as a
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
in the 2010 state election. He had become a registered Republican on June 24, 2009 and was previously registered as a Democrat from 1995 to 2006, when he changed his registration to independent. The 49th Senate district is represented since 2005 by
Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...
David Valesky David J. Valesky (b. circa 1966) is an American politician who is a former member of the New York State Senate. A Democrat, Valesky represented the 53rd Senate District and the 49th Senate District in upstate New York. Career Valesky was fi ...
. Russo named as his goals the implementation of term limits, the reduction of taxes, a spending freeze, and the removal of discretionary spending by individual senators. Russo attacked Valesky over his support for
same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...
and for "broken promises", "painful tax hikes", and "failed leadership". In December 2009, ''
The Post-Standard ''The Post-Standard'' is a newspaper serving the greater Syracuse, New York, metro area. Published by Advance Publications, it and sister website Syracuse.com are among the consumer brands of Advance Media New York, alongside NYUp.com and ''The ...
'' reported that Russo had rarely voted since registering in 2001. Russo maintained he had voted in 2006 and 2008, and had failed to vote more often because he had lived outside of the country. Michael Long, chairman of the
Conservative Party of New York State The Conservative Party of New York State is an American political party founded in 1962 following conservative dissatisfaction with the Republican Party in New York. Running on the Conservative Party line, James L. Buckley won election to the U ...
, stated on March 3, 2010, that Russo would be the Conservative Party candidate over of his Republican contender,
East Syracuse East Syracuse is an incorporated village and a suburb of the City of Syracuse in eastern Onondaga County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the village had a population of 3,084. It is located immediately east of Syracuse, i ...
mayor
Danny Liedka Danny J. Liedka is the current Onondaga County Legislator for the 7th district which includes the town of Dewitt and the Northside of the City of Syracuse, it also includes the Village of East Syracuse, New York, which Danny was mayor of until 201 ...
. In May 2010, the Senate Republican Campaign Committee endorsed Russo over Liedka for the primary election. Russo won the primary election on September 14 and became the Republican and Conservative candidate. Russo sought to run on the
Taxpayers Party of New York The Taxpayers Party of New York State was an List of political parties in the United States, American political party active in the state of New York (state), New York. It was not part of any nationwide party, nor is it affiliated with the U.S. Tax ...
ballot line but
New York State Board of Elections The New York State Board of Elections is a bipartisan agency of the New York state government within the New York State Executive Department responsible for enforcement and administration of election-related laws. It also regulates campaign fina ...
spokesman John Conklin stated on September 10, 2010, that too many of Russo's collected signatures were determined to be invalid for him to receive the line. Valesky's campaign staff criticized Russo afterwards for having "no clue who is in this senate district". In the general election, Valesky had a lead in early October in fundraising and opinion polling. Russo's campaign sought to portrait Valesky as a professional politician dependent on his party leadership and Valesky's campaign played up Russo's incomplete voting record and absence from the state. Russo's campaign publicly demanded Valesky return donation from Democratic State Senate leaders, whose names were included in a government report alleging unethical business dealings. Valesky's campaign in turn requested Russo return donations originating in the
Seneca Nation of New York The Seneca Nation of Indians is a federally recognized Seneca tribe based in western New York. They are one of three federally recognized Seneca entities in the United States, the others being the Tonawanda Band of Seneca (also in western New Y ...
, which is suing New York over taxes on reservations. The candidates and their parties committed about two million dollars combined to the election, because the election could decide what party wins a majority in the New York State Senate. ''The Post-Standard'' on November 2, 2010, predicted the election to be close. Russo lost to Valesky.


Personal life

Russo lives in Fayetteville,
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
. He is married to Natalia Chepurnova.


References


External links


Official websiteAndrew Russo for New York State Senate
Campaign website. * *
Andrew Russo Andrew C. Russo (born October 22, 1975) is an American pianist. Russo was born in Syracuse, New York, and studied music in New York City and Europe. He started a nonprofit youth educational foundation in New York at the age of 25 and recorded albu ...
at
Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Russo, Andrew 1975 births Juilliard School alumni Living people New York (state) Republicans Musicians from Syracuse, New York American male pianists 21st-century American pianists 21st-century American male musicians