Studio Blog
Andrew Staupe wins Shepherd School Concerto Competition
Andrew Staupe
Doctoral piano student Andrew Staupe wins the Shepherd School Concerto Competition with Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3! Competing first in a day filled with exemplary concerto performances, Andrew gave it his all. He will perform “Rach 3” with the Shepherd School Symphony Orchestra in the 2010-2011 season.
Judy Park performs Bartok Concerto No. 3
Judy Park
By James McQuillen, Special to The Oregonian
March 20, 2010, 12:35PM
In ten seasons with the semi-pro Portland Columbia Symphony, conductor Huw Edwards has improved the ensemble’s sound and broadened its range with challenging programming. Friday night’s concert presented a typically ambitious pairing worthy of any major orchestra – Béla Bartók’s Third Piano Concerto and Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony, the powerful “Pathétique” – in an uneven but ultimately winning performance.
Former Portland piano wunderkind Judy Park, a prominent figure in the city’s youth music scene now studying with Jon Kimura Parker at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, returned as guest soloist in the Bartók, bringing her strength, precision and candor. She crunched the opening… Continue reading
Andrew Staupe, Jeewon Lee take honors at Young Texas Artists Competition
Arts & Entertainment
Young Texas Artists Music Competition
News Release
Monday, March 15, 2010
26th Annual Young Texas Artists Music Competition Winners Announced at ENTERGY Finalists’ Concert & Awards
CONROE, TEXAS – Conroe’s historic Crighton Theatre was host to the Entergy Finalists’ Concert & Awards on Saturday evening, March 13. Finalists in the 26th Annual Young Texas Artists Music Competition, presented by the Montgomery County Performing Arts Society, dazzled concert attendees with technique, poise and tremendous musical talent. Winners, selected by five distinguished judges and one audience favorite, received awards totaling $21,000.
Musical artists from Rice University Shepherd School of Music made a clean sweep, winning all first place positions in every category plus the grand prize. Winners in each category are: Sarah Mesko, mezzo-soprano and grand prize winner in Voice; Andrew Staupe in Piano; Aaron Perdue on flute in Winds, Brass, Percussion, Harp, and Guitar; and Luke Hsu on violin in Strings. Continue reading
Mentoring Brilliant Young Talent
Dr. Parker coaching Lucy Chang at Rice University
As Professor of Piano at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, Jon Kimura Parker has to strike a balance between his performance schedule and his class. LizPR asks how he does it:
LizPR: How did you come to teaching as part of your career? JKP: It’s natural to teach the occasional master class here and there while on the road, and I’ve always enjoyed the chance to get closer to a musical community where I am performing. But taking on a class of students is another matter entirely. Each has particular strengths, specific areas for growth, different responses to different styles of teaching, and a wide range of potential. It’s a huge responsibility as I am really the guardian of their musical growth. Continue reading
Richard Marshall: From Toccatas to the Tomb
Richard Marshall
Master’s Student Richard Marshall perfomed a recital today that including the fiendishly difficult Schumann Toccata, Ravel’s less-well-known suite Le Tombeau de Couperin, Chopin’s texturally challenging Ballade No. 4, and finished with the Barber Sonata. Programs don’t get much more difficult than this!
Very few pianists tackle the Ravel Tombeau, but Richard has the fierce technique required, and also a delicate touch and an ear for color. Even fewer pianists tackle the Schumann Toccata, myself included…
Jeewon Lee wins Shepherd School Concerto Competition
Jeewon Lee
Congratulations to Parker Studio doctoral pianist Jeewon Lee, who won the First Prize in the Shepherd School Concerto Competition! Conductor Larry Rachleff commented that for the first time in the history of the competition, it was won with a Mozart Concerto, in this case, Mozart Piano Concerto in D Minor, K. 466.
Jeewon Lee wins Audience Choice Award at Ima Hogg Competition
By CHARLES WARD Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
June 8, 2008, 1:49AM
//Lee, conductor Thomas Wilkins and the orchestra certainly made Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 enjoyable again. (Absence from warhorses for a while does make them fresher on rehearing.)
There was some pretty stirring excitement at times, as well as stretches of routine work. The interpretation and performance were very respectable and they obviously impressed a lot of people in the audience and listening on KUHF-88.7 FM (they voted online). Hence the Audience Choice award.
