Kent Keyboard Series Continues with Jerry Wong Performing a Program Inspired by Dance and Poetry

Jerry Wong, Steinway artist and Kent
State University associate professor of
piano, will perform at a concert on Nov. 8
as part of the Kent Keyboard Series.

The Kent Keyboard Series continues its 2015-2016 season with a concert featuring Jerry Wong, Steinway artist and Kent State University associate professor of piano, on Sunday, Nov. 8, at 5 p.m. in Ludwig Recital Hall. Ludwig Recital Hall is located in the Center for the Performing Arts at 1325 Theatre Drive on the Kent Campus. Free parking is available.

Highlights of the performance include selections by Claude Debussy referencing a variety of dance forms from the Baroque era to the cakewalk of the early 1900s. Audience members also will be treated to pieces from Franz Liszt’s Years of Pilgrimage. These pieces are based upon poetry of Lord Byron and Etienne Pivert de Senancour, and illustrate some of the composer’s most thoughtful and nostalgic writing.

Described by Pulitzer Prize-winning critic Martin Bernheimer as "eloquent and elegant…(with) passion and introspection…sensitivity and a finely honed sense of style" and praised by the Orange County Register for "clean technique, forthright sound and a straight forward approach to classical textures," pianist Wong has performed throughout the United States, Europe and Asia in such prestigious settings as the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach, National Concert Hall of Taipei, National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., Opera City Hall in Tokyo, PianoForte in Chicago, Severance Hall in Cleveland, Shriver Hall in Baltimore and Weill Recital Hall in New York City.

During summer, Wong is co-director of the Piano Institute at Kent State and a member of the Kent/Blossom Music Festival faculty. Frequently sought after as adjudicator, clinician and lecturer, his master classes have brought him to such noted institutions as Cleveland Institute of Music, Indiana University, Northwestern University, St. Petersburg Conservatory (Russia), Tainan National University of Arts (Taiwan), University of Michigan and Yong Sieh Tow Conservatory (Singapore).

Tickets for the performance are $15 for adults, $13 for seniors and Kent State faculty and staff, $10 for groups of 10 or more patrons, $8 for non-Kent State students, $5 for children and free for full-time, Kent Campus undergraduate students. Also, thanks to a generous donation from a long-time supporter and patron of the Hugh A. Glauser School of Music, anyone 18 and under can attend the concert for free, although a ticket must be reserved.

Tickets are available weekdays, noon to 5 p.m. at the Performing Arts Box Office, located in the lobby of the Roe Green Center in the Center for the Performing Arts at 1325 Theatre Drive on the Kent Campus. The Performing Arts Box Office accepts Visa, MasterCard and Discover, in addition to cash and check.

The Ludwig Recital Hall Box Office will open one hour prior to the performance for walk-up sales; however, patrons are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance to avoid long lines. Tickets and more information are available by calling 330-672-ARTS (2787). You may purchase adult and senior citizen tickets online by visiting www.kent.edu/music/buy-tickets.