POTSDAM -- Community Performance Series will present the internationally acclaimed seven-time Grammy Award-winning pianist Emanuel Ax as a 2011-12 McElheran Visiting Artist.

The world-class artist will perform at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 12, in Hosmer Concert Hall, SUNY Potsdam. A pre-concert lecture will be given by Dr. Michael Sitton prior to the performance, starting at 6:30 p.m.

Widely considered to be one of the greatest pianists of the 21st century, Emanuel Ax is known for his poetic temperament and unsurpassed virtuosity.

In the Potsdam performance, Ax will present a solo recital featuring music by Franz Schubert, including the "Impromptus, Op. 142," "Sonata in A, Op. 120" and the "Sonata in B-flat, D. 960."

Born in Lvov, Poland, Ax moved to Canada as a young boy. He later studied at The Juilliard School under the Epstein Scholarship Program of the Boys Clubs of America. Ax captured public attention in 1974, when he won the first Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Competition in Tel Aviv. In 1975, he won the Michaels Award of Young Concert Artists, followed four years later by the coveted Avery Fisher Prize.

Recent releases include Strauss's "Enoch Arden," narrated by Patrick Stewart; discs of two-piano music by Brahms and Rachmaninoff with Yefim Bronfman, and recordings of Mendelssohn trios with cellist Yo-Yo Ma and violinist Itzhak Perlman.

Emanuel Ax will also conduct a free masterclass on Sunday, Feb. 13 at 11 a.m. at Hosmer Hall. Participation is open to all SUNY Potsdam students, and the workshop will be open to the public for viewing.

Tickets can be purchased by visiting the CPS Box Office, located in the lobby of Snell Music Theater, or Northern Music & Video in downtown Potsdam.

A special student rate of $10 is available for K-12 and college students with a valid ID. Tickets start at $24 for seniors and $28 for adults. Tickets are available by calling the CPS Box Office at 267-2277 or by purchasing online at www.cpspotsdam.org.