Guest Artists
We are honoured to invite guests to perform at the Don Wright Faculty of Music to enhance the education, experience and artistry of our students.
For additional guest artist concerts, please visit our Fridays @ 12:30 series and Artists in Residence (Ensemble Made in Canada and Tafelmusik) webpages.
2021-22 Guest Artists
Joining us on campus for an in-person event? For always-up-to-date health and safety protocols, check our Audience Information webpage before you leave home.
Jon Kimura Parker
Friday, October 22 | 7:30pm (Concert)
via Livestream
Saturday, October 23 | 10am (Masterclass)
Open to Music students only - pre-registration required via your piano studio teacher
von Kuster Hall
We are honoured to virtually welcome internationally renowned pianist Jon Kimura Parker as the guest artist for this year's Parsons and Poole Concert and Masterclass.
Medtner Piano Quintet
Saturday, November 27 | 8pm
von Kuster Hall
Celebrated musicians Scott St John and Angela Park perform Nikolai Medtner's “Two Canzonas with Dances”, Op. 43 for violin and piano. They will be joined by graduate students violinist Frangel López-Ceseña, violist Rachel Miner, and cellist Ethan Allers for a performance of Medtner's captivating piano quintet.
This concert is generously sponsored by Madeline and Thomas Lennon.
Concert Program (PDF)
Ensemble Made in Canada
Friday, January 28 | 12:30pm – POSTPONED
von Kuster Hall
Featuring Elissa Lee, violin; Sharon Wei, viola; Trey Lee, cello; Angela Park, piano, performs Stewart Goodyear's Piano Quartet and Saint-Saens Piano Quartet in B flat major op. 41.
Wednesday, February 2 | 12:30pm – POSTPONED
von Kuster Hall
Join us to hear graduate performance students in a concert of duos and trios with members of Artists-in-Residence Ensemble Made in Canada. This concert will include sonatas by Beethoven, Mozart's Kegelstatt trio and works from the trumpet literature. Featured students include pianists Laura Altenmuller, Theodore Chow, Megaria Halim, Leonardi Joewono, Hayoon Kim and Connor O'Kane; trumpeters Emily Carmichael and Olivia Callahan; and clarinetists Kelvin Liu and Emily Weaver.
Henning Schröder, saxophone & Yu-Lien The, piano
Saturday, February 5 | 6pm (Masterclass) – POSTPONED
Saturday, February 5 | 8pm (Concert) – POSTPONED
von Kuster Hall
Dr. Henning Schröder will be presenting a saxophone masterclass, followed by a concert with pianist Dr. Yu-Lien The. Both performers are faculty members at Western Michigan University. Supported by GiftFund.
Henning Schröder, saxophone
Saxophonist Henning Schröder has performed throughout Europe, Asia and North America, both as a soloist and in groups as diverse as the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Max Raabe & Palast Orchester, and the Kalamazoo-based Opus21. As baritone saxophonist of the acclaimed Capitol Quartet, with his duo partner, pianist Yu-Lien The, and with the Hiding Duo, Henning explores both the standard and contemporary repertoire of his instrument. A Yamaha Performing Artist, he has been featured in performances, lectures, clinics and as a composer at international conferences and festivals in Europe and the US. Henning holds degrees in saxophone performance and saxophone pedagogy from the University of Arts Berlin and Western Michigan University, as well as a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Illinois. He studied with Debra Richtmeyer, Johannes Ernst, Trent Kynaston, and Chip McNeill. A dedicated pedagogue, Henning is an Instructor of Music at Western Michigan University. He spends his summers in North Carolina as a member of the Brevard Summer Music Festival Artist Faculty.
Yu-Lien The, piano
Yu-Lien The has performed throughout the US, Europe and Southeast-Asia, including appearances as a soloist with the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie, the Kammerorchester Hannover, and the Baroque Orchestra L'Arco. Other notable performances include a two-piano recital with Lori Sims of Messiaen’s “Visions de l’Amen” in 2008 and a lecture-recital of “The Other Diabelli-Variations” in 2012, both at the Gilmore International Keyboard Festival in Kalamazoo, Michigan. A prizewinner of the 12th International Piano Competition Viotti-Valsesia (Italy) and the Deutsche Musikwettbewerb, she was admitted to the National Concert Podium for Young Artists (Germany), which led to several concert tours with violinist Tomo Keller. Ms. The is a champion of contemporary composers and has been involved in a number of commissions and world premieres. She frequently collaborates with saxophonists Joe Lulloff and Henning Schröder as well as composers Dorothy Chang, Keith Murphy, and Carter Pann. During her tenure with the new music ensemble Opus21, she worked with composers Anna Clyne, David Lang, and Frederic Rzewski, which culminated in premiere performances at Symphony Space (New York) as well as Zankel Hall at Carnegie in 2007 and 2008, respectively.
Born in the Netherlands, Yu-Lien The received most of her musical training in Germany, where she obtained degrees in both piano and recorder performance and pedagogy from the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hannover. She has earned an Artist Diploma from the Hochschule für Musik Detmold, a Master of Music from Western Michigan University as well as a D.M.A. in piano performance from Michigan State University. Her principal piano teachers were Arie Vardi, Anatol Ugorski, Deborah Moriarty, and Lori Sims.
Yu-Lien The is Assistant Professor of Keyboard Studies at Western Michigan University and has previously served on the faculties at Bowling Green State University, Valparaiso University, and Kalamazoo College.
Leopoldo Erice
Saturday, February 12 | 8pm (Lecture-recital) – POSTPONED
Sunday, February 13 | 10am (Masterclass) – POSTPONED
von Kuster Hall
Pianist Leopoldo Erice will give a lecture-recital entitled "Beethoven’s Deafness: from Silence to Creation" as well as a masterclass.
New Orford String Quartet
Wednesday, March 2 | 8pm
von Kuster Hall and via Livestream
Join us for a wonderful program which will include music of Canadian composer Carmen Braden, a Tango Ballet by Piazzolla, Jessie Montgomery's Strum, Barber's Adagio, and the beloved Dvorak's "American" String Quartet. Jonathan Crow and Andrew Wan, violins; Sharon Wei, viola; Brian Manker, cello.
Consisting of the concertmasters and principal cellist of the Montreal and Toronto Symphonies, the New Orford String Quartet has seen astonishing success, giving annual concerts for national CBC broadcast and receiving unanimous critical acclaim, including two Opus Awards for Concert of the Year, and a 2017 JUNO Award for Canada’s top Chamber Music Recording. Recent seasons have featured return engagements in Chicago, Montreal and Toronto, as well as their New York City debut on Lincoln Center’s Great Performers series.
Concert program (PDF)
Lori Freedman
Sunday, March 13 | 8pm
von Kuster Hall
Ears Wide Open presents clarinettist, improviser and composer, Lori Freedman.
This concert is generously supported by the Undergraduate Gift Fund.
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