Keyboard Area, University of Illinois School of Music

Come hear Bach's amazing Goldberg Variations presented by Dr. Charlotte Mattax Moersch on harpsichord!

April 28, 2024
Sunday, 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM
Memorial Room, Smith Memorial Hall

Had an absolutely wonderful time world premiering a solo piece by Mel Fitzhugh and collaborating with my string colleagues on the Ravel Trio and Dvorak Piano Quintet!

Join us for a special faculty recital on April 10, featuring Dr. Chi-Chen Wu on piano, alongside The Jupiter String Quartet, Dr. Salley Koo on violin, and Denise Djokic on cello. 🎶

In addition to performances of a piano trio and quintet with strings, this night shines a spotlight on the world premiere of Melika M. Fitzhugh's 'Unavailable for Servitude (2023)', commissioned by Dr. Chi-Chen Wu.

In turns obdurate, resigned, strident, and blithe, this piece explores the journey through the world while, whenever possible, circumventing others’ expectations of performing unpaid, unappreciated, and uncherished labor—emotional or otherwise.

Keyboard Area, University of Illinois School of Music

Join our student Chin-Hsuan (Sharon) for her DMA recital tomorrow Sunday March 31st at 3:30pm in Smith Recital Hall. Sharon will be playing pieces by Bach, Beethoven, Debussy, Yi-Chih Lu and Mussorgsky.

Guest Recital, Yuan-Yuan Chia, piano
Tuesday, March 26, 7:30 pm
Smith Recital Hall

Taiwanese pianist Dr. Edna Yuan-Yuan Chia presents a program entitled “Kaleidoscopic Fantasies”, featuring works by Haydn, Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, Balakirev, and Scriabin.

Guest Recital – Kenneth Overton, baritone and Casey Robards, piano

March 24, 2024, Sunday, 7:30 PM
Smith Recital Hall

The program features works of Hall Johnson, Florence Price, Margaret Bonds, Adolphus Hailstork, and Rosephanye Powell. Plus a new song cycle to the poetry of Paul Laurence Dunbar by Anthony Patterson.

https://music.illinois.edu/about-us/events/faculty-guest-recital-casey-robards/

Tonight our DMA piano student Yarong Guan is performing Ravel Concerto in G with UISO as the school wide concerto competition winner!
February 23, 7:30 pm (CST)
Krannert Center for the Performing Arts

Live stream link: https://www.youtube.com/user/IllinoisMusic.

Please join Dr. Mattax, Prof. Djokic, and Dr. Koo for a short, sweet, and free recital of early-ish music, “From Bach to Boccherini: Sonatas for violin, cello, and harpsichord.” The program will take place this Sunday, Feb. 4, at 3:30 pm in the Smith Memorial Room (Rm. 220 of Smith Memorial Hall at 805 S. Mathews Ave. Urbana). Included in the program are a Bach vln/harpsichord sonata, a Boccherini cello sonata (where cellist Zora Yo will join as continuo), a Bach harpsichord sonata patterned after a violin sonata (I cannot wait to hear this!), and a very fun sonata by Alessandro Stradella.

Dr. Rochelle Sennet’s “Bach to Black: Suites for Piano, Volume III” is officially released today on Albany Records!🌟🎹 An exquisite combination of the suites of Johann Sebastian Bach, along with repertoire by Black composers.

In this latest 3-disc release, she has paired the English Suites of Bach with works by Black composers based on similarities in key, mode, rhythmic energy, and occasional disruption of tonal expectations. Quoting Dr. Sennet, "The suites included on this recording represent beauty, excellence, contrast, celebration of dance style, and dialogue." All were recorded on a Yamaha concert grand (DCFX) in the Foellinger Great Hall at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts in June 2023.

🎶The album is now available on compact disc and online through Albany Records: https://www.albanyrecords.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=AR&Product_Code=TROY1869-71&Category_Code=a-Instru
🎬'Behind the Scenes' video from the recording sessions:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2RXfWLggy8

Volumes I and II were previously released in 2021 and 2022, earning Gold and Silver medals at the Global Music Awards, respectively. "Bach to Black” has consistently been featured on radio stations and programs nationwide and internationally, including BBC Radio, WFMT, WILL, WXXI Classical, as well as “Sunday Baroque” and “Bach and Beyoncé with Maria Ellis.” Dr. Sennet also presented lecture-recitals at the 2023 College Music Society National Conference, 2023 Music Teachers National Association Conference, the 2021 National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy, and the 2020 Annual Meeting of the American Musicological Society. The recent “Bach to Black” recitals have taken place at Four Seasons Arts, the CSU Symposium on Piano Music of Black Composers, and the Bach Society of St. Louis.

Keyboard Area, University of Illinois School of Music

Illinois Public Media's interview with our third-year DMA student, Esther Lee. As winner of the 21st-Century Commission Competition, on February 3, she will perform a recital at the Krannert Center featuring the winning commission by composer Jung Hyun Lee.

Click on the link to read the interview and join us for this great event on February 3!

Interview with Pianist Esther Lee | Illinois Public Media We caught up with pianist Huijae (Esther) Lee, winner of the Annual 21st-Century Commission Competition and 2023 Krannert Debut Artist. On February 3, she will perform a recital at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts featuring the winning commission by composer Jung Hyun Lee. The 21st-Centur...

Welcome back from the Winter break! To give you some inspiration for this new semester, we would like to share with you one of our faculty members’ performance of Beethoven’s Sonata Op. 111. See Prof. Ehlen’s interpretation below and have a wonderful start of the Spring semester!🥳🎹

Timothy Ehlen, piano: Sonata No. 32 in C Minor, Op. 111 by Ludwig van Beethoven Sonata No. 32 in C Minor, Op. 111 by Ludwig van BeethovenMaestoso—Allegro com brio appassionatoArietta. Adagio molto semplice e cantabileTimothy Ehlen, piano...

Our area chair is presenting a lecture in her native Taiwan this week on one of her favorite topics: Musical Topoi in Mozart’s piano sonatas! She has been researching on this fascinating subject for a long time, and her interest in performance practice has led her to study with Malcolm Bilson himself, among others. Enjoy your presentation, Dr. Wu!🎹

12/17即將到來的壓軸場講座✨
由我們知性美麗的紀禛教授擔任講師，教授除了在樂壇上是著名的鋼琴演奏家之外，他也在美國任教，將教學與演奏集聚一身🥰
本次老師要解析音樂神童Mozart的作品，身為鋼琴🎹及器樂的朋友們千萬不要錯過囉！一定會受益良多的🤩

*以下為紀禛教授簡介

吳紀禛／鋼琴與古鋼琴演奏家
被國外樂評形容為“有著令人屏息的精湛琴藝及千變萬化的音色”的旅美鋼琴家吳紀禛是第一位獲得全球音樂唱片大獎金牌的台灣音樂家，活躍於國際舞台的她經常受邀以獨奏家及室內樂家至世界各地演出，演出地點包括美國各大城市、加拿大、義大利、西班牙、法國、盧森堡、中國、Aspen 音樂節，Monadnock 音樂節，波士頓早期音樂音樂節、波士頓早期音樂節等。合作的世界知名指揮及音樂家包括 Karl-Heinz Steffens、 Jonathan McPhee、 Zuill Bailey、 茱莉亞絃樂四重奏團員、Takács 絃樂四重奏團員、林肯中心室內樂協會成員、波士頓交響樂團及紐約愛樂團員等。她的音樂會曾好幾度被美國國家廣播電台實況錄音播出。她的兩張舒曼專輯都獲得唱片大獎，其中的二重奏鳴曲專輯並與紐約愛樂並列“大城市, 紐約” 2015 十大古典唱片。美國唱片指南(American Record Guide)評論“沒有其他曲目像這幾首奏鳴曲這樣倚重演奏者的詮釋。
克萊曼和阿格麗希(1987) 以及尤基尼歐和吳紀禛(2015)精湛熱情的演奏是我最推薦的版本。”
“吳紀禛的詮釋使得奏鳴曲第一二號格外出色精彩。若要欣賞這幾首奏鳴曲，一定要聽這張唱片。”她去年發行的舒曼幻想曲及狂歡節專輯也獲得樂評一致的推薦，美國 Fanfare 雜誌評論“吳紀禛是天生的舒曼詮釋家，她高超的彈性速度，細膩激昂的樂句表現，令人驚嘆的技巧，讓樂迷在她的演奏中聽到了舒曼的靈魂。”美國 Gapplegate 古典現代音樂評論“這張唱片是舒曼的舒曼，Bravo！”出生台灣的吳紀禛，于師大音樂系畢業後至美國新英格蘭音樂院就讀研究所，取得鋼琴獨奏與鋼琴合作雙碩士，之後她再以優異演奏及學科等高等榮譽獎項順利取得博士文憑，並於同年獲聘國立台灣師範大學表演藝術研究所專任助理教授。她的老師包括林淑真教授, Jacob Maxin, Irma Vallecillo, John Moriarty, Kayo Iwama, 及 John Greer ，並曾接受世界知名演奏家如 Lynn Harrell, Thomas Quasthoff, Ralph Kirshbaum, 及 Martin Katz 的指導。2007 年至美國常春藤名校康奈爾大學任教，除了教授大學部及研究生鋼琴獨奏個別課，她並與國際知名古鋼琴家 Malcolm Bilson 學習古鋼琴演奏，及研究古樂詮釋演奏法(Historical performance practice)。在 2011 年 6 月獲得歐洲國際鋼琴研討會邀請發表演說，探討舒曼速度標記的含義，此論文並獲得該協會的最高學術研究優異獎項。除了對早期音樂的專研外，吳紀禛也經常受邀為現代知名作曲家首演，包括 John Harbison 及 Nobert Palej。2017獲邀與西雅圖的 Pacifica 樂團合作，演出英國現代作曲家 Malcolm Williamson 的第二號鋼琴協奏曲。2018-19 學年度，吳紀禛受邀至歐洲、中國及美國許多城市舉行超過二十場的獨奏會、室內樂音樂會及協奏曲演出。 此外她也受邀到西班牙 Oviedo 高等音樂院發表演說，並舉行四場大師班。
吳紀禛目前為美國懷俄明大學鋼琴專任副教授，除了頻繁的演出邀約外，她並常擔任鋼
琴比賽評審及獲邀至美國及其他國家各大學與音樂院舉行大師班。她的學生們經常在鋼琴比賽中獲獎，並考入各大名校如茱莉亞音樂院、新英格蘭音樂學院、以及加拿大排名第一的McGill 大學等攻讀碩士及博士學位。
個人網頁 www.ccwpiano.com

———————————————————————
12/17（日）14:00-16:00
🔓《文化密碼篇:解析莫札特鋼琴作品中 18 世紀歐洲文化慣用音樂素材之運用》
主講者:吳紀禛（鋼琴演奏家、伊利諾大學香檳分校音樂院鋼琴專任副教授）
現場：台北市中正區臨沂街75巷4-1號B1
線上：摩根數位廳
https://www.morganmusic.tw
（延長播放至隔天的23:59）

Our Jazz piano professor Joan Hickey is featured in the Hey Nonny 2024 Women's Jazz Festival. Check out their schedule of events! https://www.heynonny.com/2024-womens-jazz-festival/

Baroque Ensemble Concert.
What a wonderful concert tonight. Congratulations to Dr. Charlotte Mattax Moersch and everyone who performed!

Baroque ensemble concert this Sunday at 7:30!

The Concerto Urbano Baroque ensemble, directed by Professor Charlotte Mattax Moersch, is a student ensemble dedicated to the performance of early music on period instruments from the University of Illinois’s instrument collection. Students explore historical playing and singing styles in repertoire from the late Renaissance, Baroque and early Classical periods.

Today we have a spotlight on one of our faculty members: Dr. Timothy Ehlen. See below!👇🏻

UIUC Piano Pedagogy Professor Christos Tsitsaros will be giving a presentation titled "Chopin’s Musical and Technical Approach and Its Application in Piano Teaching at All Levels” at ISMTA confrence on November 3.
https://ismta.org/conference/schedule/

Our new faculty member and chair of the keyboard area, Dr. Chi-Chen Wu, is flying to Boston for a concert that appears to be spectacular. Good luck on your performance and enjoy your trip, Dr. Wu!

Gershwin Piano Concerto in F, Chi-Chen Wu, pianist
Arlington Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra
October 29, 3:00 pm
https://fb.me/e/1g35x2uo8

Song Recital: Students of Dr. Casey Robards, collaborative piano

Charlotte Moersch, Professor of Harpsichord, UIUC, School of Music

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PHGy-MsMxc&list=PLiq7cyR-HU8DlFKCwSIjfXs39zqY2ORaC&index=1

https://www.youtube.com/?app=desktop

Rochelle Sennet - YouTube Welcome to "Bach to Black." Dr. Rochelle Sennet, Yamaha Artist. "Bach to Black: Suites for Piano, Volume II recording now available on digital platforms!!ht...

Pavlo Gintov Piano Recital
October 6, 7:30 pm
Smith Recital Hall

The program features works by Lysenko, Kosenko, Bortkiewicz, Akimenko, Skoryk, Kolessa, and Liatoshynsky.

Dana Robinson, Associate Professor of Organ
University of Illinois, School of Music

Schumann: Studies for the Pedal Piano, op. 56 Robert Schumann: Six Pieces in Canonic Form—Six Pieces in Canonic form, op. 56Dana Robinson, Pedal Piano00:0000:20 I. Nicht zu schnell02:42 II. Mit innigem...

Congratulations to Dr. Robards and her students on the beautiful recital yesterday!

https://music.illinois.edu/about-us/events/song-recital-3/
Dr. Casey Robards, faculty pianist and vocal coach at the University of Illinois, launches a new series of recitals featuring advanced students from the School of Music. The series will include standard and newly composed art song in several languages by a variety of composers.

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