Arts and Entertainment

Orchestra concert to feature student pianists

Credit: Annemarie Mountz / Penn StateCreative Commons

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Penn State Philharmonic Orchestra will present a concert at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 24, in Eisenhower Auditorium. The orchestra's program features Penn State student pianists Weiyan Li and Cecilia Sakong, two of the ensemble's concerto competition winners, as well as performances of Franz Liszt's symphonic poem "Les préludes" and Aaron Copland's orchestral suite from his ballet "Billy the Kid." The orchestra is conducted by Gerardo Edelstein.

Ticket prices are $12 for general admission and $4 for students. Buy tickets in advance for School of Music concerts in Eisenhower Auditorium and save 40 percent. There is no limit on the number. Purchases made the the day of the concert are not eligible. Tickets are available at any Arts Ticket Center location, by phone at 814-863-0255 or 1-800-ARTS-TIX, or online at Penn State Arts Ticket Center.

This concert is also available on livestream at the Penn State School of Music.

Program

Les préludes - Franz Liszt

Andante – Allegro (from Piano Concerto No.3 in C Major, Op. 26) - Sergei Prokofiev (with Weiyan Li, piano)

Moderato (from Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 18) - Sergei Rachmaninov (with Cecilia Sakong, piano)           

Billy the Kid Suite - Aaron Copland*

*This year marks the 100th awarding of the Pulitzer Prizes. The first Pulitzer Prize for music was awarded in 1943 to William Schuman. Penn State School of Music faculty, students, and ensembles will be performing a variety of works by Pulitzer Prize-winning composers during the 2016-17 season. Aaron Copland won the prize in 1945 for "Appalachian Spring."

The activities of Chinese-born pianist Weiyan Li range from early music on period keyboard instruments to premieres of works by living composers, and from chamber music to concerto performances. After receiving her first musical instruction from her father, she began her performing career at the age of five. Li is currently in the second year of her doctoral studies in piano performance, studying with José Ramón Méndez. At Penn State, she has performed in the Graduate Recognition Recital, and won honorable mention in the Marian Garcia International Piano Competition and the Young Artist division of the 2015 Pennsylvania Music Teachers Association performance competitions. She will be representing the piano area at the 2017 President's Concert in Washington, D.C., performing Franz Liszt’s “Hungarian Rhapsody No.12 in C-sharp Minor.”  Li holds degrees in piano performance from Shanghai Conservatory of Music and Ithaca College.

Pianist Cecilia Sakong (Kyung Sakong) was born in Iowa. At the age of four, she moved to South Korea and began her formal musical training at the age of twelve. She has performed solo recitals throughout the United States and South Korea. Cecilia completed her bachelor’s degree at Seoul National University and earned her master’s degree in piano performance at the Eastman School of Music. She has participated in many festivals throughout the United States, Asia, and Europe on scholarship, including the Cincinnati Music Festival, New Mexico Chamber Music Festival, Chautauqua International Music Festival, Burgos International Music Festival, and the Harong Bei International Music Festival. Cecilia is a first-year doctoral student at Penn State, studying with Christopher Guzman.

 

Last Updated February 22, 2017