Karen Michele Walwyn (born 1962 in New York) is an American concert pianist, classical music composer, and recording artist.
Walwyn started her Bachelor's of Music at Broward Community College, having studied with Mrs. Rosalie Gregory since high school.
She continued her undergraduate studies with Concert Pianist Ivan Davis at the University of Miami and then with James Robert Floyd with whom she earned both a Bachelor's of Music (B.M.)
Walwyn received over $55,000 in funding from her applications to the Rackham Graduate School Research Grant Office to record African-American classical music.
As a soloist, Walwyn has performed with numerous symphony orchestras, and her solo engagements have commanded halls in the United States including Hawaii, as well in the Virgin Islands, and in Europe.
[4] Walwyn has also taught at Interlochen Center for the Arts, Bethune Cookman College, American School of Barcelona, Terrassa Centre d' Educacio de Musica, and the University of Michigan.
[5] Walwyn was selected as a Mellon HBCU Faculty Fellow by the Duke University John Hope Franklin Humanities Institute in 2011.
[7] Morris Phibbs, the former executive director of The Center of Black Music Research, invited Walwyn to record a premiere performance of the Florence B.
In the 2015 Dr. James Greeson Emmy-nominated documentary, The Caged Bird: The Life and Music of Florence B. Price,” Walwyn performs as the featured pianist.
[8] Walwyn was the featured guest on NPR's Classical Breakdown with host Jonathan Banther on the subject of Florence Price which aired on February 26, 2021.
[8] With the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra in 2021, Walwyn premiered the newly released recording of Price's authentic score of the Concerto in One Movement in E minor[9] under the direction of Maestro Geoffrey Robson.