Pianist Frederic Chiu to participate in Sterne residency

Pianist Frederic Chiu will be Sterne Virtuoso Artist-in-Residence Thursday and Friday, Nov. 20 and 21, at the College. He will participate in a workshop with students Nov. 20 and perform in concert at 8 p.m. Nov. 21. Admission is $5 per person for the general public, and $2 for students and senior citizens.

The program features two Mendelssohn compositions, Sonata in E Major, Op. 6, and Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, Op. 14; Six Etudes, from Op. 10 and 25 by Chopin; Petrarch Sonnets 104 and 147 and Apr s une lecture du Dante, from Ann es de p lerinage, by Liszt; and Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde, by Wagner/Liszt.

Chiu?s intriguing piano-playing and teaching spring from a diverse set of experiences and interests: his Asian/American/European background, his musical training, and an early and ongoing exploration of artificial intelligence and human psychology, especially the body-mind-heart connection. Many of his more than 20 CDs have been singled out for honors, including ?Record of the Year,? by Stereo Review and ?Top 10 Recordings? by The New Yorker.

This past summer, Chiu completed a major South American tour with his frequent duo partner, violinist Joshua Bell. Raised in the U.S. by his Chinese immigrant parents, Chiu earned a degree in computer science before putting his considerable focus on studying piano at Juilliard. And he?s seldom followed traditional paths to the virtuosic music he now plays, records, and teaches. Chiu?s original approach to learning and performing draws on ancient Eastern traditions of philosophy and meditation?and sometimes cooking