Alumni Profile: Kirill Gerstein '96

MARCO BORGGREVE

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http://www.berklee.edu/news/1724/alumni-profile-kirill-gerstein-96

Aspiring rock stars may believe that a hit single is the only path to music industry riches, but Kirill Gerstein '96 knows otherwise. The Russian-born classical pianist wasn't striving for a hit or anything else in particular; he was simply enjoying traveling the world and playing music he loved. But one day earlier this year, the riches found him. He arrived at a meeting and was told that he had won the $300,000 Gilmore Artist Award, an elite prize that goes to a deserving pianist once every four years. Who needs the Billboard charts, anyway?