West Liberty University will
present a piano concert, featuring two pianos, four hands and two talented
artists, at 7:30 p.m., Jan. 24 in Elbin Auditorium, College Hall. The
concert is free and open to the public.
Becky Billock, WLU adjunct professor of piano will
perform with Tina Faigen, Pittsburgh concert pianist.
"Becky Billock and Tina Faigen are truly outstanding
concert pianists, displaying consummate artistry and technical finesse," said Gerald Lee, an associate professor of music at West Liberty. Their
exciting and demanding program will feature masterworks by Sergei Rachmaninoff,
Witold Lutoslawski and Robert Schultz. Please don't miss this very special
event."
Billock has been hailed as a "persuasive and
capable" musician (BBC Music Magazine) and an "unforgettable listening
experience" (The Whole Note). She is known for promoting the works of
contemporary women.
Billock has appeared as soloist with regional orchestras in
Oregon and California and has performed solo and chamber recitals in numerous
locations throughout the U.S., including numerous tours of Northwest cities,
and appearances on the Seattle radio station Classical KING FM 98.1, the
Pittsburgh radio station WQED 98.3FM, and American Public Media's Performance
Today. Billock's recent CD release musesnine: eight American composers plus one
pianist has received extensive airplay throughout the U.S. and Canada, and
garnered accolades from some of the top music publications.
Most recently, Billock presented a series of concerts in
Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, collaborating with San Antonio-based soprano Gail Wettstein
and others. She has a bachelor's degree from Walla Walla College, a master's
degree from University of Redlands and a doctoral degree from University of
Washington, where she studied respectively with Leonard Richter, Louanne Long
and Craig Sheppard.
Faigen is a recipient of many prizes and awards and has
appeared on the distinguished Pittsburgh "Y" Recital Series, is a 1989 winner
of the Pittsburgh Concert Society Majors, and has been engaged as guest pianist
with numerous orchestras, including the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra at the
age of 13. She has appeared in over 30 performances of Tchaikovsky's 3rd Piano
Concerto with Edward Villella's Miami City Ballet and was awarded a debut tour
of Italy as concerto soloist with the Orchestra Sinfonica Abruzzeze.
Faigen's CD recordings of Robert Schultz's works "Visions of
Dunbar" and "Tina Faigen Plays Piano Transcriptions" have received rave
reviews. Faigen is co-author of the acclaimed Accelerando Piano Technique
Series, along with numerous other editions of educational piano music.
She earned her bachelor's degree from Oberlin College and
her master's and doctoral degrees from the University of Miami under the
tutelage of renowned pianist Ivan Davis. Since 1992 she has been the principal
editor for the Robert Schultz Piano Library. Faigen has maintained an active
teaching studio since the age of 14, and is currently a senior piano faculty
member of the Music Preparatory School at Carnegie Mellon University.
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