Pianist Ning An To Open Lee University 28th Annual Presidential Concert Series

Lee University will welcome Ning An, piano, back to campus for the opening performance of Lee’s 28th annual Presidential Concert Series. The event will take place in Pangle Hall on Thursday, Sept. 5, at 7:30 p.m. An will present “Stories behind the Music” featuring the works of Brahms, Chopin and Bach.

Mr. An, a former Lee music professor, is hailed by the New York Concert Review as a musician who “combines a flawless technique and mastery of the instrument with an expressive power that is fueled by profound and insightful understanding.” Thursday’s performance will be Mr. An’s 11th on the Presidential concert Series lineup.

Mr. An’s top prizes from the Queen Elizabeth, Cleveland, and William Kapell piano competitions have led to performances across the globe, from Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall and Milan’s Salle Verdi to Beijing’s Great Hall of the People. He has performed with some of the world’s great ensembles, including the Ysaÿe, Daedalus, and Takács quartets, as well as with instrumentalists such as Andrés Díaz and Paul Neubauer.

Mr. An’s additional accolades have included top prizes in the Paloma O’Shea Santander, the Tivoli International Piano, and the Rachmaninoff International piano competitions, as well as the Alfred Cortot Prize at the International Chopin Piano Competition.

He received an Artist’s Diploma, a Master of Arts, and a Bachelor of Music from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston and currently serves as an artist-teacher on the piano faculty of California State University.

Another Lee favorite, the a cappella group Chanticleer will continue the concert series on Monday, Oct. 28. Called “the world’s reigning male chorus” by the New Yorker, the San Francisco-based GRAMMY award-winning ensemble recently celebrated its 40th anniversary. Chanticleer is known around the world for its seamless blend of 12 male voices ranging from soprano to bass and its original interpretations of vocal literature, from Renaissance to jazz and popular genres, as well as contemporary composition. 

The series will continue in February 2020 with winners of the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant Helen Huang, piano, and Paul Huang, violin.

Known for immaculate technique and eloquent sensitivity, Helen Huang has enjoyed a multi-faceted career as a soloist and chamber music player and has played with the Cleveland Orchestra, the National Symphony, and the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Paul Huang, recipient of the Lincoln Center Award for Emerging Artists in 2017, has performed at festivals worldwide, including his recital debut at the Lucerne Festival in Switzerland, the Aspen Music Festival, Seoul Arts Center, and at the Louvre in Paris.

The university will welcome Roman Rabinovich, piano, on March 19, 2020, for the fourth concert of the series. Praised by The New York Times for his “uncommon sensitivity and feeling,” Rabinovich is the winner of the 12th Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition. He has performed throughout Europe and the United States in such prestigious venues as Leipzig’s Gewandhaus, London’s Wigmore Hall, and the Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory.

The series will conclude on April 16, 2020, with the Glenn Miller Orchestra, one of the most popular and sought after big bands for both concert and swing dance engagements. The present Glenn Miller Orchestra was formed in 1956 and has been touring consistently since, playing an average of 300 live dates a year all around the world.

Tickets for all performances are $15 for adults and $5 for students and seniors. Tickets are available for purchase at the Lee University Box Office in the Dixon Center or by contacting 614-8343, one week prior to each concert, between 3-6 p.m. Tickets are also available at https://www.showclix.com/. 

For more information about the Presidential Concert Series, visit https://www.leeuniversity.edu/pcs/ or call the School of Music at 614-8240.