Master Class: May Phang

Friday, April 14, 2017

1:00 - 3:00 p.m.

Winifred Smith Hall

Pianist May Phang will perform and give a master class Friday April 14 at 1:00-3:00 pm in Winifred Smith Hall. This performance is free and open to the public.

Praised by critics and audiences for her imaginative programming and compelling performances, pianist May Phang enjoys discovering and performing a wide range of repertoire, old and new, familiar and lesser known.  From her performances of Bach and Liszt to Libby Larsen and Chen Yi, musicians have described her playing as “vibrant”, “colorful”, and “evocative”.  While striving to more deeply understand and to bring fresh insights into the masterpieces of composers such as Beethoven and Chopin, she is also equally committed to discovering and championing the works of today’s living composers.  She has premiered the works of Armando Bayolo, Jaroslaw Golembiowski and Geoffrey Gordon, and has also worked with composers such as Aaron Jay Kernis and Joan Tower.

Her 2013 debut CD Travels through Time featured works centered around Mark Twain’s satirical A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court.  Upcoming projects include major solo piano works by American composer Curt Cacioppo.

In addition to her solo work, May Phang is also an avid chamber musician.  Recent collaborations include the José White Quartet, the Philomusica Quartet, the Amernet Quartet and the Percussion Plus Ensemble.

Performances as soloist and chamber musician have taken her to venues such as the Goethe Institute in Bangkok, Tianjin Conservatory Concert Hall in China, Victoria Concert Hall in Singapore, Chapelle historique du Bon Pasteur and Place-des-Arts in Montreal, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Kennedy Center for the Arts and National Gallery in Washington DC, the Chicago Cultural Center, the Detroit Institute of Art, and to festivals such as the Singapore Festival of Arts, the Montreal International Piano Festival, the Karol Szymanowski Festival in Zakopane, Poland, and the Festival de música de cámara de Aguascalientes, Mexico.

May has also performed with orchestras such as the Banff Chamber Players, Singapore Symphony, Montreal Symphony, and the Philadelphia Orchestra.  Competition prizes include the Chopin Young Pianists' Competition in Buffalo NY, Canadian Music Competition, Concours d'orchestre symphonique de Montréal, and Pontoise International Young Artists Competition in France, while Radio and television appearances include profiles on Singapore Broadcasting Corporation's "Life and Times" and "Arts Around" and broadcasts on Radio-Canada, Vermont Public Radio, WFLN, Philadelphia, Wisconsin Public Radio, and WFMT, Chicago.

Currently the John Rabb Emison Professor of Creative and Performing Arts and Professor of Piano at DePauw University, Indiana, her prior teaching positions include Carroll University in Waukesha, Wisconsin, and the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music in Milwaukee.  She was also a former teaching artist with Young Audiences of Indiana, artist faculty at Interharmony Italy, and continues to frequently adjudicate competitions and present masterclasses nationally and internationally.