Pianist Ilia Radoslavov, assistant professor of music and piano at Truman State University, will perform in Corley Auditorium on Monday, Feb. 17, at 7:30 p.m.

“He’s a very prestigious pianist,” said Stacey Barelos, assistant professor of music, piano and music theory at Missouri Southern.

A native of Bulgaria, Radoslavov received his doctoral degree in piano performance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

In 2009 he was the gold medalist at the Seattle International Piano Competition and has also won first prize in the American Protégé International Piano and Strings Competition.

“It’s important to expose the students to performers who aren’t from the area,” said Barelos, “and they aren’t going to encounter a lot of eastern European performers.

Also, he’s a very different pianist than I am, so it’s good to expose the kids to pianists who work on different repertoire.”

According to Barelos, Radolsavov excels at romantic and virtuosic repertoire, as well as Beethoven and a few modern composers.

The recital is free to students and community.