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In what’s surely to be one of cultural highlights of the year, world-renowned pianists Tong-Il Han and Helen Lee have been lined up to perform two spectacular classical concerts in Florida. Playing host to the events, which take place on Saturday March 4th at 7pm, and Sunday March 5th, at 3pm, is The Chopin Project® with performances to be held at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Sarasota. It looks certain to be a full house with the concerts’ producer already witnessing demand from local music lovers and aficionados right across the State.
Beginning with an all-Chopin solo piano recital by Han on the 4th, and concluding when Han is joined by his wife Helen, for a performance of an all-Schubert programme on the 5th, the weekend event will provide the public with an increasingly rare chance to hear Han, now 75 years old, play some of the most beautiful music ever composed for the piano.
Han, a former child prodigy, Juilliard scholar, Leventritt prize winner (probably the most prestigious international competition for classical pianists) and White House pianist for President and Mrs. Kennedy, together with Lee, herself an eminent pianist and educator, was persuaded to perform once again by Frederick Slutsky, the brains behind The Chopin Project®.
The Chopin Project®, a global community sharing information, educational, audio and video resources, and producing live concerts and outreach events, focused on the great composer’s works, makes Chopin’s music more accessible to listeners and music students worldwide. And, when Slutsky found out that such celebrated musicians lived nearby, he began working on a series of ideas that has culminated in the scheduled performances as well as a separate student outreach event at Sarasota’s Booker High School on Monday, March 6th where there’ll be a master class, performance and student question and answer session.
Slutsky explains: “Han is a compelling figure in my life so I’m really excited that I and others are going to be able to hear him play in such an intimate venue. Not only am I fascinated by his background – being born in what is now North Korea, discovered by a 3-star American General and brought to the US at just 12, before winning his scholarship and then the Leventritt Prize at just 23 – but he is also responsible for some of the best Chopin recordings including his 24 Preludes 4 Ballades and 4 Scherzos.”
“Getting to know Han, and his wife Helen, has been a real privilege and I just know that the two concerts we have lined up will be a real treat for those equally as passionate about the music as me. I’m sure the events will captivate everyone who attends from the casual fan, to fledgling music student, or even the most deeply committed Chopin or Schubert scholar. And I hope to be announcing more good news soon as Han and Helen are very interested in some larger outreach events that I’m currently working to produce.”
Chopin Project® founder and producer, Slutsky, concludes: “Largely designed as a way to inspire and move the next generation of musicians and concert-goers – the main thrust of our stimulating outreach programs with voluntary associations, conservatory-trained musicians and local schools – these two concerts are being subsidised generously by local business clients, friends, and Chopin Project® patrons, so that students from Sarasota or Manatee County can attend both events free of charge together with one accompanying parent who will also benefit from free admission.”
Anyone wanting tickets for these two exceptional Chopin Project® concerts, at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Sarasota, on the 4th and 5th of March, can click here to buy them online or call (800) 838-3006 to speak to a sales agent. Admission costs $30 for adults.
Although now winding down commitments after a life of playing, recording and teaching all over the world, Tong-Il Han enjoys an enviable reputation. Not only is his personal story inspirational, but his list of musical credits is almost unparalleled. He has performed with the finest orchestras in the world, among them, in America, the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, and Detroit Symphony. He has also played with the London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, Scottish National Orchestra, Oslo Philharmonic, Monte Carlo Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Polish Radio National Orchestra, Budapest Radio Symphony Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra and Russian National Symphony, among many, many others.
In a career spanning well over 50 years, Han has been a prolific recording artist, appeared regularly at many classical summer festivals and worked to improve the talents of young musicians: something he still enjoys doing with local students. He has taught music at Indiana University, Illinois State University, the University of North Texas and Boston University. He also served first as Dean of the College of Music and then as Chair Professor of Music at University of Ulsan in South Korea, as well as Guest Professor at Elisabeth University of Music in Hiroshima, Japan, and he has also taught at Korea’s Suncheon University. He now judges piano competitions worldwide.
Helen Lee has studied piano performance with renowned musicians such as Leon Fleisher, Steven Bishop Kovachevich, James Tocco, Michel Block, Pamela Paul, and Vladimir Viardo. She received her Bachelor of Music degree from Indiana University, studying under a full scholarship, and her Master of Music from the University of North Texas, with a Teaching Fellowship.
Her concert career covers cities in the USA, Korea, Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand, Singapore and Mexico, including as a guest soloist with the Seoul Juenesse Orchestra, the University of North Texas Orchestra, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra and Daegu Philharmonic Orchestra.
Lee taught as the National Institute of Education in Singapore for 14 years, and Nanyang Technological University for 5 years before her return to Korea in 2009, where she taught at Gwangju University. In addition to her musical career, she is also an award-winning artist having won an international painting competition in 2005 and having had her works shown all over the world.
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