Southern Utah University’s music department is hosting violinist Dr. Donna Fairbanks and pianist Dr. Hsiang Tu for performances on Tuesday, Feb. 1 and Wednesday, Feb. 2 in the Thorley Recital Hall at 7:30 p.m. Both performances are free to the public.
Tuesday’s performance will feature Fairbanks and Tu as they play music composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Paul Hindemith, Fritz Kreisler and Cesar Franck. Tu will perform solo on Wednesday, playing music composed by Louis-Claude Daquin, Francois Couperin, Jean-Philippe Rameau, Arlene Elizabeth Sierra and Frederic Chopin.
Both artists have performed around the globe, recorded music and taught university students.
Fairbanks earned a Bachelor of Music at Brigham Young University, a Master of Music at Eastman School of Music and a Doctor of Musical Arts at the University of Arizona. Fairbanks has performed in venues including the Ghent Festival in Belgium, Schumann Festival in Germany, Rotterdam Conservatory in the Netherlands and Teatro Ouro Verde in Brazil.
She has recorded difficult pieces including Lou Harrison’s Concerto for Violin and Percussion and Arvo Part’s Fratres. WNYC New York City, WPRB Princeton and the Beethoven Satellite Network are a few major radio stations that have played her recordings.
Currently, Fairbanks is an associate professor at Utah Valley University. In 2021, the Utah-American String Teachers Association named her Teacher of the Year.
Tu is a Taiwanese-American artist who earned a Bachelor of Music and Master of Music at The Juilliard School and a Doctor of Musical Arts at the University of Calgary. He has performed in venues including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in Alberta, National Museum Cardiff in Wales and the National Recital Hall in Taipei.
He has appeared with groups including the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, Sioux City Symphony Orchestra and the World Civic Orchestra. In October 2020, Tu released his debut album “Bestiary on Ivory,” a collection of works that depicts imagery and sounds from the animal kingdom. He is also an assistant professor of piano at Virginia Tech.
Students can find more information about the artists and upcoming performances on the department website.
Story By: Addie Horsley
Photo Courtesy of SUU Music
accent@suunews.net
