September 30, 2003
NEW ARTISTS REPLACE SOLON PIERCE IN FRIDAY’S MASTERCLASS/GUEST ARTIST RECITAL
LA CROSSE, Wis.—Due to illness, guest artist and pianist Solon Pierce has canceled his piano masterclass and recital scheduled for Friday, Oct. 3, at Viterbo University. Husband and wife pianists Du Huang and Xiao Hu have agreed to take his place.
Huang and Hu are both faculty members at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, and are members of the Unison Piano Duo. Huang and Hu both received their undergraduate and graduate degrees in music from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Huang received his doctorate in piano from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, from where Hu is currently pursuing her doctorate. As part of Unison Piano Duo, the two have received accolades in the U.S. and abroad. Most recently they toured China and performed masterclasses in major cities there. Of their performances, the Wuhan Morning Post said, "the duo plays with heartfelt emotion and seamless ensemble…best piano duo concert heard in years."
During the masterclass on Oct. 3, Huang and Hu will work closely with three Viterbo students: Damion Mead, a senior music performance major from Lone Rock; Jackie King, a senior music performance and pedagogy major from Durand; and Michelle Shestak, a junior music performance major from Bryant. The masterclass is at 12:10 p.m. and the recital is at 7:30 p.m. The recital will include solo, duet, and two-piano works by Brahms, Crumb, and Infante.
Both events, held in the Fine Arts Center Recital Hall, are free and open to the public.