Young Artists Series Kicks off at Fairfield University’s Quick Center for the Arts on Jan. 8

Young Artists Series Kicks off at Fairfield University’s Quick Center for the Arts on Jan. 8

Jennifer Prat, jennifer.prat@fairfield.edu, 203-254-4000 ext. 2979

FAIRFIELD, Conn. (December 13, 2016) — Young talent and classic compositions combine when Fairfield University’s Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts hosts its annual Young Artists Series. The series of three classical piano performances by some of the most gifted young pianists in the world will kick off on Sunday, January 8, 2017 at 2 p.m. when winner of the seventh New York International Piano Competition Jun Hwi Cho takes the stage.

In collaboration with the New York International Piano Competition and the Stecher and Horowitz Foundation — a non-profit organization that aims to further the education, recognition and growth of talented young musicians — the Quick Center for the Arts is pleased to bring gifted young pianists in recital three times each year.

This year’s featured pianists include Cho, a native of Seoul, South Korea who is currently pursuing a bachelor of music degree at Juilliard. Beginning his piano studies at the age of nine, Cho went on to complete four years in the Preparatory Division of the Korean National University of Arts and later attended the Korean National Institute for the Gifted in Arts. Cho graduated from the Yewon School (Arts Middle School) in 2012 and attended the Pre-College Division of the Juilliard School. As the first-prize winner of the seventh New York International Piano Competition in 2014, Cho was awarded a recital at the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C.

Mackenzie Melemed — performing on Sunday, January 29, 2017 at 2 p.m. — was also a prizewinner of the sixth New York International Piano Competition in 2012. In 2014, the Massachusetts native also won first prize at the 18 th International Hamamatsu Piano Academy Competition in Japan. Melemed’s other accolades include top prizes in the 2012 Gina Bachauer International Young Artists Piano Competition, 2010 Steinway Society of Boston Young Artist Competition, 2010 A. Ramon Rivera Piano Competition, and the 2006 Bradshaw and Buono International Piano Competition.

The youngest finalist at the 2008 New York International Piano Competition, Eloise Kim will bring her “great poetic phrasing and poised lyrical nature” to the Quick Center on Sunday, May 7, 2017 at 2 p.m. Named a 2014 Jack Kent Cooke Graduate Arts Scholar, one of only 20 young artists in the United States to receive this $100,000 scholarship for her graduate studies, Kim is pursuing her master's degree at the Manhattan School of Music with Andre-Michel Schub, following a bachelor’s degree in music at the Colburn Conservatory.

Admission is free of charge for all three performances, but reservations are required, as space is limited. To reserve seats, visit the Quick Center website at quickcenter.com or call the Box Office at 203-254-4010 or toll free at 1-877-ARTS-396.

Posted On: 12-13-2016 03:12 PM

Volume: 49 Number: 91