March 22, 2017
Memorial recital will honor SIU’s David Lyons
CARBONDALE, Ill. – David Lyons was a collaborative pianist at Southern Illinois University Carbondale for nearly a decade. He was also a composer. A memorial recital in his honor will feature his music exclusively as performed by SIU faculty and students.
The recital begins at 3 p.m. on Sunday, March 26, in the Old Baptist Foundation Recital Hall. Admission is free. The program includes a dozen of Lyons’ compositions and will last about an hour. Lyons passed away in January.
“In his capacity as a collaborative pianist, David worked with students and faculty in rehearsals and performances ranging from instrumental recitals to art song, show tunes and opera. He worked with hundreds of students representing every area of specialty within the School of Music,” Eric Lenz, interim director, said.
Lyons performed at several important venues, including the Washington International Competition for Pianists, where he was a prize-winner, and the Main Hall of the Kennedy Center. He toured with Daniel Gaede, former concertmaster of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, who played at Carnegie’s Weill Hall, among other places. He held music degrees from the University of Michigan, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Indiana University, and his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Oregon.
Musicians joining the concert include School of Music faculty members Yuko Kato and Junghwa Lee, piano; Michael Barta, violin; and collaborative pianist Jenny Kirby; School of Music graduate students Emily Dworak, soprano and Jeffrey Chow, viola; and local musicians Reiko Schoen and Maki Ito Pardiec, piano.
The program also includes recordings of live performances made during various public concerts during Lyons’ years at SIU. Christina Lyons, his widow, assisted with organizing this memorial recital.