WT Piano Recital to Offer Rare Opportunity for Music Lovers

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Copy by Chip Chandler, 806-651-2124, [email protected]

 

CANYON, Texas — An innovative Oct. 25 piano recital at West Texas A&M University will offer audiences the chance to enjoy a pair of little-heard compositions.

Pianists Richard Fountain and Derek Parsons will perform at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 25 in Mary Moody Northen Recital Hall on the Canyon campus. Admission is free.

The duo will perform Edward MacDowell’s Concerto No. 1 in A Minor, Opus 15 and Healey Willan’s Piano Concerto in C Minor—neither of which is at the top of mind when thinking of piano concertos, which adds to the appeal, said Dr. Choong-ha Nam, professor of music.

“Neither one of these pieces are performed much,” Nam said. “Willan is not a composer I was familiar with, and the MacDowell piece isn’t traditionally part of the classical canon. We’re excited to expose our students and audiences to work that isn’t often heard.”

MacDowell was a prominent composer in the 19th century and one of the first American composers to find an audience in Europe. Willan is a prolific 20th-century composer from Canada best known for sacred choral compositions.

Fountain is associate dean and professor of piano at Wayland Baptist University’s School of Creative Arts. He is dedicated to presenting American piano music from all eras; his solo album “American Ivory,” surveying American piano music of the 19th and 20th centuries, was released by Navona Records in 2021.

Parsons, a Canada native, is professor of piano at Furman University. His solo album, “Liszt: The Poet Inspired,” was released in 2015.

Fostering an appreciation of the arts is a key component of the University’s long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.

That plan is fueled by the historic, $125 million One West comprehensive fundraising campaign. To date, the five-year campaign — which publicly launched in September 2021 — has raised more than $110 million.