Oregon Center for the Arts at Southern Oregon University presents piano duo at SOU Tutunov Piano Series concert

SOU LOGO HZ 186 POS
(Ashland, Ore.) – The Music program of the Oregon Center for the Arts at Southern Oregon University presents the third concert of the SOU Tutunov Piano Series, featuring international piano duo Ivona Kaminska and Christopher Bowlby, on Friday, Feb. 6 at 7:30 p.m. in the SOU Music Recital Hall.
The performance is a prelude to Valentine’s Day with a program of works by Mozart, Schubert, Debussy, Junkinsmith and Milhaud. “This Romantic program will be sure to please everyone in attendance for this early Valentine Day’s celebration,” said Dr. Alexander Tutunov, the series’ namesake.  “Ivona and Christopher are my favorite piano duo who will impress the audience with their superb balance of musicality and technical brilliance in this beautifully constructed program.”
The duo will perform Mozart’s “Sonata in F Major for 4 Hands, K 497,” as well as Debussy’s “Petite Suite,” “Rashamon” by Junkinsmith and “Scaramouche” by Milhaud. The pianists note that Seattle composer Jeff Junkinsmith wrote “Rashamon” particularly for them.
Bowlby is the program director at the Chopin Academy of Music in Issaquah, Wash., and the director and vice president of the Seattle International Piano Festival and Competition. He has been featured on public radio several times, including a live performance of Bach’s “Partita No. 4 in D Major, BWV 828” on King FM in Seattle. His playing has been acclaimed for its warmth and integrity and he has performed in such prestigious musical centers as the Weill Recital Hall in Carnegie Hall in New York City, Salle Cortot in Paris, France, and Benaroya Hall and Meydenbauer Center in Seattle.
Kaminska teaches at the Chopin Academy of Music and is president of the Seattle International Piano Festival and Competition. Dr. Kaminska holds a Masters of Arts and Post-Graduate Performance Diploma from the Frederic Chopin University of Music, Warsaw, Poland, a Masters of Music from University of Nebraska – Lincoln, and a Doctorate of Musical Arts from University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada.
Both artists maintain a busy concert schedule as soloists and chamber musicians.
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.
Tutunov also is the Artistic Director of the SOU International Piano Institute and Artist in Residence at the University of Alaska Southeast. He just finished a five-year tenure as a voting member of the Grammy Academy. 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.
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 sou.edu/performingarts.
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.
-SOU-
Ivona Kaminska, Christopher Bowlby