October 18, 2011
Pianist Sandra Wright Shen plans performances
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Pianist Sandra Wright Shen comes to Southern Illinois University Carbondale to join both the Southern Illinois Symphony Orchestra (SISO) and the Southern Illinois Chamber Music Society for performances this week.
She joins the orchestra Oct. 20 in Shryock Auditorium for a performance beginning at 7:30 p.m. She joins SIU Carbondale School of Music string faculty at the Carbondale Unitarian Fellowship on Parrish Lane on Oct. 23 for a performance beginning at 3 p.m.
Shen’s performance with SISO features Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto, which was also the piece she selected for her first CD recording. The concert program includes “Symphony Fantastique,” composed by French Romantic Hector Berlioz; and the tone poem “Prélude to the Afternoon of a Faun,” from Claude Debussy.
The chamber music performance includes a Mozart trio and a Schubert quintet. Joining Shen are the School of Music string faculty: Michael Barta, violin; Philip Brown, double bass; Eric Lenz, cello, and new faculty member Jacob Tews, viola.
Shen teaches now at the Brevard Music Institute, but her teaching credits include time at SIU Carbondale. Shen has performed with the Taiwan National Symphony Orchestra, Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra, Redlands Symphony Orchestra and with the Young Artist Chamber Concert Series at the Kennedy Music Center.
Shen’s recent public appearances include benefit concerts and educational performances for children, including those with mental disabilities.
Tickets for the Thursday performance with SISO are $20 for general admission, $8 for students. Get tickets in advance at the Shryock Box Office during office hours, by calling 618/453-6000 or online at www.SouthernTicketsOnline.com. Tickets are also available at the door beginning an hour before the performance.
Tickets for the chamber performance on Sunday are $15 for general admission, $5 for students, and are available at the door beginning an hour before the concert. Southern Illinois Chamber Society concerts directly benefit scholarships to the SIU Carbondale School of Music.
For more information about the SIU School of Music, including details about student and faculty ensembles and a full schedule of events, see http://music.siuc.edu/.