About Frances & Michael
Frances Veri
Born and raised in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Veri entered The Juilliard School at the age of 16 with scholarships and received her B.S. & M.S. degrees with awards. She won first prize in the Mozart Competition held at Juilliard in 1962. She is a member of ASCAP. At the age of 21, she began teaching at the Hartt College of Music, University of Hartford, CT. Further studies in France at the Fontainebleau American School for the Arts. Frances made her debut in 1970 with her husband, Michael at Lincoln Center.
Michael Jamanis
Born and raised in Concord, New Hampshire, Jamanis entered college as a pre-med student and at the age of 21, entered the Juilliard School as a scholarships student. Under the Walter Damrosch scholership, Veri and Jamanis studied under Robert and Gaby Casadesus and Nadia Boulanger at the American School of Fine Arts in Fontaineblea, France. Michael made his debut in 1970 with his wife, Frances at Lincoln Center.
Television/Radio
Veri and Jamanis have a vast and illustrious history of performances dating back to the 1970’s. Included amongst the many performances are; Beijing Radio, Korean Broadcasting Company, Voice of American Mideast, syndicated radio program for Ford Motor Company syndicated by Chicago’s WFMT. WQXR in New York, The Merv Griffin Show, and special commendation from Corporation for Public Broadcasting for excellence in cultural program for PBS television show “Carnival of Animals.” Collaborated with Ed Jablonski, Gershwin’s biographer, to produce Rhythm/Songs/Blues… Gershwin for PBS. Frances Veri composed and recorded the soundtrack for the third PBS TV Special “Like the Wind.” Fourth TV Special, Maryland Public TV producing “Purely Gershwin,” hosted by William Hurt.
Recordings
Connoisseur Society, Philips, EMI and Book-of-the-Month Club twice (The complete works of Gershwin). “Priceless Records” for the book companies Crown Publishing/Random House.
Tour Profile
Toured under Columbia Artist Management from 1974 - 1989. Cross country tours annually throughout the United States and Canada including cities like Boston, Chicago, New Orleans, Tokyo, Seoul Korea, Taipei, Beijing, Hong Kong, and Budapest. Orchestral debut with the Houston Symphony.
Performers, educators, administrators, duo-pianists, Veri and Jamanis have taken their performing careers beyond the stage–to create a stage–a learning platform for young people. They have always shared their music and their enthusiasm with others; whether from a concert stage, a teaching studio or a writer’s bench.
Veri and Jamanis have expressed their love of music, their love of people, their love of life through live concert performances, recordings and television productions. They have devoted much of their lives to teaching, both in the studio and in master classes. The ultimate expression of their love of young people has been the creation of a music school.
