September 29, 2017

SVSU to host piano recital featuring Beethoven and Tchaikovsky

Two pianists will bring the music of Beethoven and Tchaikovsky to Saginaw Valley State University's Rhea Miller Recital Hall Friday, Oct. 6 at 7:30 p.m.

The piano recital will feature Wendy Chu, a piano accompanist at SVSU, and MiJung Trepanier, an adjunct faculty member at the university; each has performed across the world. They will perform classical music including Beethoven's "Egmont Overture" and "Variations on a Theme of Beethoven, op 35" as well as Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker Suite, op 71a."

Wendy Chu, originally from Taiwan, received her Doctor of Musical Arts in piano performance from Michigan State University. She has performed in recitals across the world, including Taiwan, Canada, Austria, and the U.S.; she also has been featured on PBS. Chu also serves as the vice president of the Midland Music Teachers Association. When she is not teaching at SVSU, she teaches in her home piano studio and The Rhine Center for Musical Arts in Rochester Hills.

Midland-based pianist MiJung Trepanier shines on stage and in the classroom. Like Chu, she has performed all over the world, including Asia, Latin America, and across the U.S. Trepanier is an active educator, giving lectures at multiple conferences such as Michigan Music Teacher Association, Herter Music Center, and Bay Music Teacher Association. Her private studio attracts students of all ages. She has taught at SVSU, Alma College, and Southern Utah University.

Special guests Barbara DuRussel and Diana Kurin will join the performers during "Egmont Overture." DuRussel has been teaching piano since 1964. She also enjoys accompanying and working on church music. Kurin has been teaching piano in Midland since 2006. Kurin serves as the current president of the Midland Music Teachers Association and is a co-chair for KeyboardFest 2018 in Kalamazoo.

Admission for this recital is free. Please contact SVSU at (989) 964-4159 or music@svsu.edu for more information.