Versatile Pianist Returning To Newtown
Versatile Pianist Returning To Newtown
The multi-talented pianist Melvin Chen will return to Edmond Town Hallâs auditorium on Sunday, March 21, at 3 pm, to perform a concert presented by Newtown Friends of Music.
Mr Chen was last heard in Newtown just a year ago, when he played with the violist Nokuthula Ngwenyama. He so impressed both audience and reviewers that he was invited to return this season for a solo performance.
Mr Chenâs concert is being sponsored by The Homesteads at Newtown.
The program for March 21 will be characteristically wide-ranging, including baroque, classical, romantic and contemporary composers, and concluding with a crowd-pleasing medley of American folk tunes by Louis Moreau Gottschalk. Along the way, Mr. Chen will play sonatas by Scarlatti, waltzes by Ravel, a Mozart Fantasia, three Chopin nocturnes, descriptive pieces by Debussy, and an unconventional and eloquent work by the American composer Jennifer Higdon.
Mr Chen was selected to be a member of Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center: Chamber Music Society Two, where he appeared with members of the Chamber Music Society in performance and educational programs for two seasons. A performer in numerous music festivals, he has performed at the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival, Chautauqua, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, Chamber Music Northwest, Bard Music Festival, and Music from Angel Fire, among others.
He is a performer on Wynton Marsalisâ series on music education, âMarsalis on Musicâ, and can also be heard on Discover, Nices, and KBS label compact discs with the violinist Juliette Kang.
Free parking and handicapped access are available for the concert at Edmond Town Hall. Light refreshments provided by The Homesteads at Newtown will be served following the performance to give the audience an opportunity to speak with the artists in an informal setting.
Tickets are $15 for adults. Children between the ages of five and 14 are welcome and admitted free of charge when accompanied by a ticket-holding adult.
For further information and last-minute reservations call 426-6470. Tickets will also be available at the box office in the theater one hour before the start of the concert.