Hong & Rector, Duo Piano
| When | Friday, October 4, 2013, 7:30 PM |
|---|---|
| Location | Lansing Recital Hall |
| Admission | Tickets: $17 General $12 Sr/Fac/Staff/Student/Alumni |
2013 Ellis Duo Piano Competition Award Winners
Though they have been playing together professionally for little more than a year, pianists Michael Rector and Sylvia Hong have already achieved considerable success. They have performed for enthusiastic audiences at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. In Busan, Korea, they performed two sold-out concerts on the same day. In April, 2013, Sylvia and Michael won the 2nd prize in the Ellis Competition for Duo-Pianists, sponsored by the National Federation of Music Clubs. Their broad repertoire ranges from Mozart, Brahms and Rachmaninoff to contemporary and American composers. Their engaging programming reflects the joy of discovery that led them to start playing together as undergraduates.
Sylvia and Michael have been playing together informally for ten years—exploring the orchestral, chamber and operatic repertoire in duo arrangements. Michael and Sylvia were married on December 30th, 2011 and played their first public recital together on February 11th, 2012, at the Belhaven University Center for the Arts in Jackson, MS.
Michael holds the doctoral degree from Manhattan School of Music, where he studied with Phillip Kawin. He is interested in the intersection of music and literary and visual arts, a continuation of his undergraduate studies in comparative literature. He frequently presents lecture-recitals at academic conferences and at colleges and universities in the U.S. and abroad.
As a soloist, Sylvia has concertized extensively, including appearances at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. In the past two seasons she has performed with orchestras in Washington, DC, Chattanooga, and Mokpo and Suwon in Korea, under conductors Kim Daejin, Yun Il Jin, Jooyong Ahn and Ulysses James. Her principal teachers were Lydia Frumkin of Oberlin College and Benjamin Pasternack of Peabody Conservatory. Since 2011, she has served as Assistant Professor of Piano at Belhaven University.
For tickets visit academics1.biola.edu/music/events or call 562-903-4892.