Crane School of Music Welcomes Guest Artists Charles West and Yin Zheng

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Guest artist Charles West, clarinet, will perform alongside Yin Zheng on piano, at SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music on Nov. 12.

• The pianist Yin Zheng will perform with Charles West, clarinet, on Thursday, Nov. 12 at 7:30 p.m. in Hosmer Hall at The Crane School of Music.

POTSDAM, NY (11/04/2015)(readMedia)-- SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music invites the public to enjoy a guest artist recital featuring Charles West, clarinet, and Yin Zheng, piano, on Thursday, Nov. 12, at 7:30 p.m. in the Helen M. Hosmer Concert Hall.

The concert will open with Robert Schumann's "Fantasiestücke, Op. 73," followed by Robert Muczynski's "Time Pieces, Op. 43," a four-movement work. Following an intermission, West and Zheng will present "Fantasie Italienne, Op. 110" by Marc Delmas and "Cantilene" by Louis Cahuzac, closing the performance with Michael Garson's "Clarinet Solos."

This event is free, and the public is invited to attend.

About the performers:

Dr. Charles West is an orchestral and chamber clarinetist and soloist, performing solo recitals and concertos throughout the United States, Europe, Latin America and Asia. He appears regularly on the programs of international gatherings of clarinetists in America and in Europe, and has been called "one of the most recorded clarinetists in American Academia." His recorded repertoire ranges from the most standard of sonatas to the most avant garde, on labels including Klavier, Wilson Audiophile, Centuar, CRI, Crystal and a 1993 Grammy Award-winning Telarc album. West holds a doctorate and three other university degrees, has been a Fulbright Scholar, and he has served as treasurer of the International Clarinet Society. Instrumental in merging the present-day International Clarinet Association from two previously separate entities, he was elected to the first presidency of that organization. His career has included 10 years as principal clarinet of the El Paso Symphony Orchestra, 12 as principal clarinet of the Flagstaff Festival Orchestra and one as principal in the Peruvian National Symphony Orchestra. He has held teaching positions in three North American universities, and guest professorships in South America, Taiwan, Hong Kong and China. His book, "Woodwind Methods: An Essential Resource for Conductors, Educators and Students," was published in 2015 by Meredith Music Publications. West is a professor of music, artist-clinician for the Buffet Group and conductor of the Youth Orchestra of Central Virginia.

Pianist Dr. Yin Zheng enjoys a vibrant career of performing and teaching across Europe, U.S. and Asia. She has been featured on leading music stages such as Carnegie Hall and Steinway Hall in New York City. Following her early training in her native city of Shanghai, Yin Zheng furthered her study at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels. She also completed a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Eastman School of Music. Zheng has won first prizes in both the 28th Frinna Awerbuch International Piano Competition and the Empire State Piano Competition. In 2006, she was engaged for Mozart double and triple piano concerto performances with Nelita True in the prestigious Oriental Arts Center with the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra. Her chamber performance was recorded by La Radio Suisse Romande. In 2008, she was invited as the first pianist from the North America to perform at the Kirovohrad Spring Music Festival in Ukraine. She has earned a high reputation through performing guest artist recitals and teaching masterclasses. Zheng has served as a faculty member-in-residence for the Lancaster International Piano Academy in Pennsylvania, the Vianden Music Festival in Luxembourg and the Schlern International Music Festival in the Italian Alps. Highly versatile, Zheng has performed with jazz violinist Regina Carter and worked with the acclaimed painter/filmmaker Jean Detheux, synchronizing live acoustic performance and visual elements.

This concert will be broadcast live on the SUNY Potsdam website at the performance time. To view the program and see other upcoming streaming performances, visit www.potsdam.edu/academics/Crane/streaming.

For more information about SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music, please visit www.potsdam.edu/crane.

Founded in 1886, SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music has a long legacy of excellence in music education and performance. Life at Crane includes an incredible array of more than 300 recitals, lectures and concerts presented by faculty, students and guests each year. The Crane School of Music is the State University of New York's only All-Steinway institution.

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