Charles Pettaway selected to receive IAOTP’S Lifetime Achievement Award

Charles Pettaway honored member of the International Association of Top Professionals will be honored at their annual awards gala in Nashville NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES, November 5, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Charles Pettaway, Professor & Chairman of the Music Department at Lincoln University, was recently selected for the Lifetime Achievement Award by the International Association of Top Professionals (IAOTP) for 2024 for his outstanding leadership, dedication, and commitment to the industry.

While inclusion with the International Association of Top Professionals is an honor in and of itself, only a few select members are chosen for the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award. These special honorees are selected to receive this award based on their longevity in their fields, their contributions to society, and their impact on their industries. Mr. Pettaway will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award this December at IAOTP's 2024 Annual Awards Gala at the remarkable Gaylord Opryland Resort in Nashville.
www.iaotp.com/award-gala

With over three decades of experience, Mr. Pettaway is a talented musician who has been teaching as a full professor of music in the Department of Visual and Performing Arts at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania since 2012. He also served as the Chair of the department from 2011 to 2018. Additionally, Mr. Pettaway has taught advanced music theory and music history styles, among various other courses, throughout his tenure. He recently just obtained the role of Chairman of the Music Department at Lincoln University. As a concert pianist, Mr. Pettaway has performed throughout the United States at such venues as the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Symphony Hall in Chicago, Carnegie Hall in New York and the Academy of Music in Philadelphia, among many other locations. Internationally, he has toured Switzerland, Russia, France and Israel, notably making his European orchestral debut with Capital Orchestre of Toulouse in France. Mr. Pettaway has also had his performances broadcasted on radio and television.

Mr. Pettaway came from a musically inclined family; his love for music grew upon watching his grandmother excel as a church organist and his aunt as a piano teacher, who also happened to be his first piano educator. At the age of 14, he began attending the Philadelphia Music Academy on a full scholarship, where he studied with Clemente C. Petrillo, who taught him technique, musicality and passion. He continued his studies at the Ravel Academy, the Tanglewood Summer Music Festival and the American Conservatory at Fontainbleau, France, also privately studying piano performance and theory with Nadia Boulanger, Claude Frank, Gaby Casadesus, Gunther Schuller and Phillipe Entremont. Mr. Pettaway obtained a Bachelor of Music, cum laude, from the Philadelphia Musical Academy in 1971 and a Master of Music, cum laude, from Temple University in 1976.

Throughout his illustrious career, Mr. Pettaway has received many awards and accolades and has been recognized worldwide for his accomplishments. In light of his pianistic skills, Mr. Pettaway was awarded First Place for Piano Performance at the Bartok, Kabalevsky International Piano Competition and also was named First Place winner at the Robert Casedesus International Piano Competition. He has received numerous district, state and regional piano competition awards, as well as the Douglas Humes and Victor Marianne Music Award. Mr. Pettaway further obtained several fellowships, including a Walter Damorsch Memorial Music Fellowship, Baranke Fellowship and Edward Gerrugus Fellowship. In 2018, he was an Inductee for Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement. In 2004 he was a Featured Listee for Who’s Who in America as well as in 2006/2007, he was a Featured Listee, Who’s Who in American Education. This past year he was selected as Top Music Educator or the Year by IAOTP. This year, he will be considered for a feature in TIP (Top Industry Professionals) Magazine. He will be honored at IAOTP's annual awards gala at Gaylord Opryland Resort in Nashville this December for his selection of The Lifetime Achievement Award.

In addition to his successful career, Mr. Pettaway is involved in his local community, Mr. Pettaway contributed as a commonwealth speaker for the Pennsylvania Humanities Council from 2010 to 2012 and again from 2014 and 2016. He presently serves as the director of the Sanctuary and Fellowship Choirs at Pinn Memorial Baptist Church, holding the position of the director of music at this church since 2004. Mr. Pettaway serves as a music consultant at Sayers United Methodist Church and Janes United Methodist Church.

The President of the International Association of Top Professionals (IAOTP), Stephanie Cirami, stated: "Choosing Mr. Pettaway for this honor was an easy decision for our panel to make. He is inspirational, influential, and a true visionary and thought leader. We cannot wait to meet him and celebrate his accomplishments at this year's gala."

Looking back, Mr. Pettaway attributes his success to his perseverance, work ethic and mentors he had along the way. When not working, he enjoys spending time with his family. In the future, he hopes to inspire and influence those getting into the field.

Watch his video: