Music Series at Akin to host Lucille Chung

Pianist Lucille Chung and a quintet of world-class musicians will close the second season of Midwestern State University's Music Series at Akin at 7:30 p.m. April 1 at Akin Auditorium.

Joining Chung will be Peter Kolkay on bassoon, Tara Helen O'Connor on the flute, horn player William Purvis, clarinetist David Shifrin, and oboist Stephen Taylor - each one a highly sought-after performer in his/her own right. Members of this group have won or been nominated for numerous musical prizes, including Grammys. They teach at schools such as Yale and Vanderbilt and are artist members of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center in New York City. The program will include Mozart's Quintet for piano and winds, KV. 452; Quintet no. 1 by Jean Francaix; and Beethoven's Quintet for piano and winds, Op. 16.

Chung will be a familiar face to music fans in Wichita Falls from her performances with the Wichita Falls Symphony Orchestra, the last in November 2011. She made her debut with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra at age 10, and was invited as soloist on the orchestra's tour to Asia. Before she was 20 years old, she had graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music and the Juilliard School. She has performed in venues such as Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall in the United States and internationally in London, Amsterdam, and Madrid.

In 1989, she was named first-prize winner at the Stravinsky International Piano Competition. She won second prize at the 1992 Montreal International Music Competition, at which she also won a special prize for the best interpretation of an unpublished work. In 1993, she received an outstanding achievement award from the Governor General of Canada and in 1994 won second prize at the First International Franz Liszt Competition in Weimar. In 1999, she was awarded the prestigious Virginia Parker Prize by the Canada Council for the Arts.

Chung and her husband, pianist Alessio Bax, are the artistic directors of the Joaquin Achucarro Foundation based in Dallas. The foundation aims to maintain the legacy of the Spanish pianist with study opportunities, and recitals and concerts. Her latest CD is Mozart & Me, recordings of both well-known and more obscure Amadeus W. Mozart compositions.

Dr. Ron Fischli, Dean of the Lamar D. Fain College of Fine Arts, said that he has been pleased with the turnout and the response to the series, with attendance growing as the new series becomes established. "For the quality of the program and the performers, these seats are inexpensive," Fischli said. "And because of the generosity of the Prothros, proceeds benefit the arts programs at MSU." The series is sponsored by the Perkins-Prothro Foundation, and Dale and Joe Prothro, with the Lamar D. Fain College of Fine Arts at Midwestern State University.

General admission tickets are $25 for each performance, or $40 for season tickets. Tickets for senior citizen and military are $22.50 for each or $36 for season tickets. Tickets for MSU faculty and staff are $15 or $24 for season tickets. MSU student tickets are $10 each or $15 for season.

Tickets may be purchased by contacting the MSU Music Department secretary at the Fain Fine Arts Center at (940) 397-4267 between 1-5 p.m. when school is in session. Cash or check only, credit cards cannot be processed. Chung's performance was originally scheduled for Nov. 1, 2012. Any tickets purchased for that performance will be honored.