Awakening Sleepers, Grazing Sleep, and Other Beloved Piano Duos

PROGRAM
Bach: Three pieces transcribed by György Kurtág
Mendelssohn: Andante and Allegro Brillante, Op. 92
Chaminade: Three pieces from Op. 35 & 36
Debussy: Petite Suite
Bach: Sheep May Safely Gaze & Jesu, transcribed by Leonard Duck
Bach: Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring, transcribed by Myra Hess

ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Bonnie Choi has concertized widely in North America and Asia, appearing as a soloist with the Syracuse Symphony, Rochester Chamber Orchestra, the Memphis Symphony Orchestra and the Hong Kong Sinfonietta. Her baroque ensemble, Air de Cour, has performed in the United States and in Hong Kong. The South China Morning Post proclaims that she “displays dazzling technique and draws new colours from her instrument.”

Based in Upstate New York, Dr. Choi performs locally in chamber music concerts with faculty from the Eastman School of Music and with members of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra.

An expert in piano pedagogy, Dr. Choi has been a featured speaker at numerous conferences, including those held regionally by the New York State Music Teachers Association (NYSMTA) and others by the European Piano Teachers Association (EPTA), Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) and National Conference on Piano Pedagogy (NCKP) and the World Piano Conference. She has adjudicated at numerous piano competition events and many of her students have been accepted into music programs at major institutions in the United States and have won prizes in statewide and national competitions.

She has given lectures and masterclasses in performance practice at the National Harpsichord Competition in Kansas, the Hanoi Conservatory of Music in Vietnam, the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and the Academy of Performing Arts in Hong Kong. In 2016 and 2017, she was a visiting faculty member at Shandong Normal University (China). She recently has given concerts and masterclasses at the Hong Kong Baptist University and the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts in 2018. In 2019, she was a visiting scholar at West Anqui University in China.

Dr. Choi’s numerous honors include Finalist at the Pro Musicis Award Competition and prizes received at the Festival Musica Antiqua (Brugge, Belgium) and the National Association of Young Performers Competition (New York City). Her performances have been heard on public radio in the United States and in Hong Kong, and she has recorded for VM Music. Audio Technique magazine has applauded her “wonderfully expressive playing.”

Dr. Choi is an Associate Professor at Nazareth University and is also on the faculty at Syracuse University.

Kevin Nitsch is a staff pianist at Nazareth University. He performs regularly with the Rochester Oratorio Society, Finger Lakes Opera, Lyric Opera and Madrigalia.

Kevin holds a BM in Piano Performance from the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music, and a MM and a DMA in Performance and Literature in Piano Performance from the Eastman School of Music.

Kevin has completed Yoga Teacher Training at Open Sky Yoga in Rochester and teaches yoga at Nazareth College and the Clover Center for Arts and Spirituality. He finds pianobenchasana to be his favorite pose. Kevin lives in Penfield with his wife, Brenda and enjoys hiking, biking and kayaking.

Host or Publisher Civic Morning Musicals