Upcoming concerts feature piano duos, solos

Elizabeth Joy Roe and Greg Anderson, piano duo.

Lovers of piano music should be in a happy place as duos and soloists offer wonderful opportunities in the next 10 days.

First up is the Du and Sim Piano Duo, which has been appearing widely in the region, including tomorrow with an 8 p.m. performance at the University of Michigan's Britton Hall in the Moore School of Music, 1100 Baits Dr. on North Campus, Ann Arbor.

The duo also will perform at 7:30 p.m. Monday in the University of Toledo Center for Performing Arts Recital Hall.

Ning-Wu Du, son of a musically sophisticated Chinese family, trained at the Juilliard School. His partner, Helen Sim, a South Korea native, made her Carnegie Hall debut at age 10. Both are now professors of music at Xinghai Conservatory in Guangzhou, China.

Their program will represent Chinese and European styles, with music written by Du and his father, Qian Du, plus "Butterfly Lovers," a violin concert by Zhan-Hao He & Gang Chen arranged by Du and Sim for two pianos.

Darius Milhaud's Scaramouche Suite and Brahms' Variations on a Theme by Paganini, in an arrangement by Polish composer Witold Lutoslawski, also are planned.

Both concerts are free.

Between those events, pianist Anthony Pattin will appear at his alma mater in a Dorothy MacKenzie Price Piano Series recital at 3 p.m. Sunday in the UT Recital Hall. Pattin also is to lead a master class at 10 a.m. Saturday. Both events are free.

Another keyboard special event will occur at Bowling Green State University's Kobacker Hall of Moore Musical Arts Center. Greg Anderson and Elizabeth Joy Rose are to appear at 8 p.m. Feb. 9 in the Festival Series presented by BGSU.

Performing both as four-hands (two players, one piano) and two-piano, Anderson and Roe are Juilliard School graduates. They tour nationally and have just recorded their second album, "When Words Fade."

Their programming typically mixes works by Mozart, Rachmaninoff, Bach, Satie, and Piazzolla with contemporary songs by Radiohead and Michael Jackson, all arranged for piano. The duo also will lead a master class at 2:30 p.m. Feb. 8 in Bryan Recital Hall.

Tickets are $12 to $38 at www.bgsu.edu/arts or 419-372-8171.

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Also at BGSU, the BG Philharmonia directed by Emily Freeman Brown will present its 46th annual Concerto Concert at 3 p.m. Sunday in the Donnell Theatre of the Wolfe Center for the Arts. Soloists will be clarinetist John Georgeson, pianist Akira Kaku, saxophonist Noa Even, and soprano Elizabeth Pearse.

Tickets are $9-$12 at the door or less in advance at 419-372-8171.

The Music at the Manor House free public recital series continues with viola students from BGSU playing at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in Wildwood Preserve Metropark Manor House.

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The Toledo Symphony, with resident conductor Jeffrey Pollock on the podium and University of Toledo faculty pianist Michael Boyd at the keyboard, will perform neighborhood and regional concerts this weekend.

Tonight at 8, the orchestra will be at Corpus Christi Parish, 2955 Dorr St., for a program featuring American classics. Tickets for the Corpus Christi concert, a fund-raiser for the parish, are $15 at the door or $100 to also attend a pre-concert dinner.

The same program is planned for the Regional Concert at 8 p.m. Friday at the University of Findlay's Winebrenner Seminary hall. Tickets are $10 to $25 at 419-434-5335 or at the door.

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The Musical Arts Series at Firelands will present Operaholics at 3 p.m. Sunday in the Firelands Presbyterian Church, 2626 E. Harbor Rd., Port Clinton. Heidelberg faculty members and singers Carol Dusdieker and Renee Clair, accompanied by pianist Sophia van der Westhuizen, will present costumed scenes from operas including Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, Wagner's Die Fledermaus, and Donizetti's Don Pasquale.

Tickets are $15 at the door, with a reception to follow the performance.

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Musica Antigua de Toledo will host its annual fund-raising tea at 3:30 p.m. Sunday in Epiphany Lutheran Church, 915 N. Reynolds Rd. Teas, sweet and savory delicacies, and a concert of early music are planned, along with tea-leaf reading by Tamilyn Shean.

Reservations were due yesterday, but a call to Alice Petersen, head of the group, at 419-475-6177 may get you admittance. Tickets are $20 per person.

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The Toledo Piano Teachers Association will present its monthly program at 10 a.m. Tuesday in St. Andrews United Methodist Church, 3620 Heatherdowns Blvd. Gay Galvin will lead a workshop on improvisation. The event is free and open to the public.

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Monday Musicale announces the next concert in its 100th anniversary celebration year. This will be at 1 p.m. Monday in Epworth United Methodist Church, 3077 Valleyview Dr., at Central Avenue.

Performers will be pianist Joy Morin, David Hufford, organist, and Steve Madewell, composer and performer. The concert is free.

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Mea Culpa: In an advance story on the Kronos Quartet, which played Jan. 17 at the Valentine Theatre, I mistakenly called this performance their local premiere. Thanks to those who contacted me to correct that error. Kronos first performed in the region 25 years ago at the Franciscan Center of what is now Lourdes University.

Items for News of Music should be sent to svallongo@theblade.com at least two weeks ahead of the event.