Oregon Center for the Arts at Southern Oregon University presents pianist Alexander Tutunov in Grand Finale of SOU Tutunov Piano Series

(Ashland, Ore.) – The Music program of the Oregon Center for the Arts at Southern Oregon University presents the grand finale concert of the 2014-2015 SOU Tutunov Piano Series on Friday, May 22 at 7:30 p.m. in the SOU Music Recital Hall. The concert features piano virtuoso Dr. Alexander Tutunov, namesake of the series, violinist Terrie Baune and pianist Jodi French.
The concert begins with Tutunov and Baune performing the “Violin Sonata No. 2 in G Major” by Maurice Ravel, followed by “Sonata No. 3 for Violin and Piano in D minor, Op. 108” by Johannes Brahms. Tutunov is joined by French playing the orchestral reduction of the “Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18” by Sergei Rachmaninoff.
A new Concert Steinway D (with two actions), donated by James Havstad, will be dedicated at the concert.
Tutunov is Professor of Piano and Artist in Residence at Southern Oregon University. “Over the past few years, I felt there were enough people in the Rogue Valley who are as passionate about the things I do and love doing as I am,” said Tutunov. “We have a fortunate combination of a great venue, terrific supportive audience, and my personal connections in the classical piano music world with the result that we can bring high quality music-making to the Rogue Valley.” Tutunov describes each featured artist’s uncompromising quest for finding “the deepest meaning and perfection in the music they perform” as the common thread through the series.
Baune is concertmaster of the Eureka Symphony, concertmaster of the North State Symphony, and co-concertmaster of the Oakland East Bay Symphony. She is a member of Earplay, a professional new music ensemble based in San Francisco, and the associate director of the Humboldt Chamber Music Workshop. She has been a member of the National Symphony Orchestra of Washington, D.C., the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra of New Zealand, and concertmaster positions with the Fresno Philharmonic, the Rohnert Park Symphony and the Santa Cruz County Symphony. She is an active chamber musician as a member of the Empyrean Ensemble in residence at University of California, Davis, the Gabrielli Trio and the Helmholtz Trio.
French is an accomplished soloist and accompanist whose talented style is familiar to Rogue Valley residents. She has been playing piano since the age of three and her favorite hobby as a child was trying to play every piece she knew in every possible key. She studied with Dr. Alexander Tutunov at Southern Oregon University. She is a professional accompanist for the Southern Oregon Repertory Singers, has played with the Rogue Valley Symphony for many years, and with virtually every other musical organization in southern Oregon. She has had several sacred works for choirs and soloists published. She is also an adjunct faculty, teaching piano in the Southern Oregon University Music program.
Tutunov is the Artistic Director of the SOU International Piano Institute. He has served as director of the Chinese-American International Piano Institute in Chengdu, China; a voting member of the Grammy Academy; and as the artist in residence at the University of Alaska Southeast. Tutunov was named the Nationally Certified Teacher of Music and the Official Soloist with the Port Angeles Symphony orchestra last year. He maintains a busy performing schedule in Europe, China, Mexico and the United States as a recitalist, soloist with orchestra, and on radio and television. He is also in demand as an adjudicator for piano competitions. A successful piano pedagogue, he prepares award-winning students.
Reserved tickets are $20 general and free to full-time students. The Performing Arts Box Office is located in the Music Recital Hall lobby. Box office hours are noon to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and two hours prior to each performance. Tickets can be purchased with a credit card over the phone by calling 541-552-6348 or online at oca.sou.edu.
About Southern Oregon University
Southern Oregon University provides outstanding student experiences, valued degrees, and successful graduates. SOU is known for excellence in faculty, intellectual creativity and rigor, quality and innovation in connected learning programs, and the educational benefits of its unique geographic location. SOU was the first university in Oregon—and one of the first in the nation—to offset 100 percent of its energy use with clean, renewable power, and it is the first university in the nation to balance 100 percent of its water consumption. Visit sou.edu.
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