UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — University of New Hampshire faculty member Hsiang John Tu will perform a guest piano recital at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 28, in Esber Recital Hall. Admission is free.
The recital includes music composed or inspired by Frédéric Chopin. In addition, Tu will present a masterclass for Penn State piano students the same day at 1 p.m. in Esber Recital Hall, which is also free and open to the public.
Program
À la Chopin
Étude Op. 10/3 for the Left Hand - Leopold Godowsky/Frédéric Chopin
Variations on a Theme by Chopin - Federico Mompou
Étude No. 2 - Claude Debussy
Étude No. 6 - György Ligeti
24 Preludes, Op.28 - Frédéric Chopin
The New York Times has praised the “eloquent sensitivity” in pianist Hsiang Tu’s performance. Born in Taipei, Taiwan, he debuted in New York at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center as the winner of the Juilliard School Concerto Competition in 2004, and he returned to the same venue in 2013 as a soloist with the World Civic Orchestra. Tu has held adjunct teaching positions at Utah Valley University and Snow College in Utah prior to his current appointment at University of New Hampshire as a lecturer in music (piano).
After coming to the U.S. as a teenager, Tu studied with Hung-Kuan Chen, Jerome Lowenthal and HaeSun Paik, and earned a master's degree and doctorate degree in piano performance from the Juilliard School. He won second prize at the New Orleans International Piano Competition, third prize at the Iowa International Piano Competition, and the Leschetisky Prize at the American Pederewski Piano Competition in Los Angeles. He has appeared as a soloist with the Sioux City Symphony Orchestra, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Lake George Chamber Orchestra, Snow College Orchestra, Boston University Symphonic Orchestra, and the New England Conservatory Youth Philharmonic Orchestra.
As an active chamber musician, Tu has collaborated with faculty members of the Juilliard School, New York University and Brigham Young University, and musicians from New York Philharmonic, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Utah Symphony. He has premiered chamber works in the Summergarden concert series at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, which was reviewed favorably in the New York Times, and collaborated in sold-out performances at the Joyce Theater in NYC with the renowned modern dance company Rioult.
Tu has given masterclasses at University of Southern California, Loyola University New Orleans, and Colorado Mesa University. He teaches applied piano, piano literature, piano pedagogy, and piano accompanying at University of New Hampshire, as well as directs the university’s Piano Extension Program that provides piano lesson to local children. For more information, please visit hsiangjohntu.com.