Category Archives: keyboard-alumni

Prof. Melton to perform and teach in Michigan

Dr. Laura Melton will perform the Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1 in D Minor with the Warren Symphony Orchestra on Sunday, April 1st at 3:00pm in the Macomb Center for Performing Arts in Clinton Township, Michigan. The concert will also feature Bartok’s Concerto for Orchestra and Put’s Millenium Canons. Melton will teach a master class on March 31, 1:30-3:00pm for Detroit-area pre-college pianists at Warner Hall, Oakland University. The link for ticket information is http://www.macombcenter.com/Events/2012-04-01-WSO+Concerning+Concertos.htm

Pianist Christopher O’Riley of NPR performs on BGSU Festival Series

Musical boundary-crossing pianist Christopher O’Riley will give a solo performance as the next artist in Bowling Green State University’s Festival Series. Hosted by the College of Musical Arts, his concert begins at 8 p.m. Feb. 11 in Kobacker Hall of the Moore Musical Arts Center.

Since the triumphant release in 2003 of “True Love Waits,” O’Riley’s reimagining of works by such performers as Radiohead, Elliott Smith and Nick Drake have garnered critical accolades and international acclaim, including the only four-star review ever given by Rolling Stone magazine to a classical pianist.

His latest White Tie Classics/Mesa-BlueMoon release, “Out Of My Hands,” includes music of R.E.M., Portishead, Cocteau Twins, Pink Floyd, Nirvana, The Bad Plus, The Smiths and Tears for Fears, as well as material from Radiohead and a newly released song by Elliott Smith.

As host of the popular NPR music program “From the Top,” O’Riley is well known for his eloquent and compelling musings on music and popular culture. His most recent performances stretch the piano beyond the classical repertoire and into the rich, uncharted territory of contemporary and alt-rock. Announcing the program from the stage allows him to share musical discoveries, letting the music flow seamlessly from one genre to another, from the familiar to the fresh.

O’Riley is recognized as one of the leading American pianists of his generation, touring extensively as a recitalist and chamber musician and appearing with major orchestras in the U.S. and abroad. The illustrious group of conductors with whom he has collaborated includes Michael Tilson Thomas, Semyon Bychkov, JoAnn Falletta, Krystof Penderecki, Kurt Mazur, Christopher Hogwood and Leonard Bernstein.

O’Riley’s visit will also include a master class for BGSU piano students and his serving as a judge for the final round of the David D. Dubois Piano Competition for talented high school students.

For tickets, call the College of Musical Arts Box Office at 419-372-8171 or email musictickets@bgsu.edu.

Dubois Semi-Finalists Announced for 2012

The 2012 Dubois Semi-Finalists are:

Ningjialu Liu
Demi Fang
Michael Lenahan
Cindy Zhao
Vanessa Haynes
Yuanzhe Zhong
Bryan Ho
JiaKung Victor Feng
Arata Kaku
Joseph Vaz
Vivian Anderson
Megan Lee
David Belkovski
Zi Yi Yang
Jeffery Huang
Cathy Li
Meiling Lin
Phoebe Pan
Grace Yi
Albert Wang
Miguel Morrissey

Solungga Fang-Tzu Liu premieres Gregory Mertl’s Concerto for Piano and Wind Symphony with University of Minnesota Wind Ensemble

Dr. Solungga Fang-Tzu Liu, assistant professor of piano, premiered Gregory Mertl’s Concerto for Piano and Wind Symphony on November 22 with the University of Minnesota Wind Ensemble, conducted by Craig Kirchhoff. This concerto was commissioned by the Barlow Endowment for Music Composition at
Brigham Young University and was written for Solungga Liu and the University of Minnesota Wind Ensemble. A subsequent CD of the Concerto will be released by INNOVA in 2012.