Sean Chen Set for Pepperdine Recital Series at Smothers Theatre, 10/19

The Lisa Smith Wengler Center for the Arts 2014-2015 Recital Series begins with a performance by Crystal Award-winning pianist Sean Chen at Pepperdine University at 2 p.m. on Sunday, October 19. Due to popular demand, this performance has been moved from Raitt Recital Hall to the larger Smothers Theatre.

Tickets, priced starting at $22 for the public and $10 for full-time Pepperdine students, are available now by calling (310) 506-4522 or online at http://arts.pepperdine.edu/. More information: http://seanchenpiano.com/

The program will include Mozart's Sonata in B-flat Major, K. 333; Rachmaninoff's Étude-Tableau in C Minor, op. 39, no. 7; Aaron Copland's Piano Variations; Bach's Adagio, BWV 968, Ricercar a 3 from Das Musikalisches Opfer; Chopin's Barcarolle, op. 60; and Richard Wagner and Franz Liszt's Overture to Tannhäuser.

Hailed as a charismatic rising star with "an exceptional ability to connect with an audience combined with an easy virtuosity" (Huffington Post), pianist Sean Chen won over fans and critics at the 2013 Cliburn Competition. The first American to earn a Cliburn award since 1997, he took home third prize, just months after being named the 2013 Christel DeHaan Classical Fellow of the American Pianists Association.

In addition to his impressive performances of classical works, Chen is also a proponent of new music and contemporary composers. Chen writes his own arrangements and compositions, and has performed new works by Lisa Bielawa, Michael Williams, Nicco Athens, Michael Gilbertson, and Reinaldo Moya. Los Angeles Music Examiner noted, "Los Angeles native Sean Chen has the rare ability to combine poetic musical sensibilities and dazzling technical prowess." In March 2014 International Piano magazine named Chen "One To Watch."

Mr. Chen has previously performed with several orchestras, including the Fort Worth Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, Phoenix Symphony, Indianapolis Chamber, Juilliard, New West Symphony, and Suwon Philharmonic Orchestras, working with such conductors as Leonard Slatkin, Gerard Schwartz, Miguel Harth- Bedoya, James Judd, and Boris Brott. He has presented solo recitals in Amsterdam's Concertgebouw, Boston's Jordan Hall, and in Albuquerque, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and Taipei, among other cities. Mr. Chen's performances have been broadcast live on From the Top, American Public Media's Performance Today, WQXR (New York), WGBH (Boston), and WFYI (Indianapolis).

Born in 1988 in Margate, FL, Chen grew up in the Los Angeles area of Oak Park, CA. His impressive achievements before college included receiving an NFAA ARTSweek award, a prize at the California International Young Artist Competition, the Los Angeles Music Center's Spotlight Award, the Evelyn Vonar Storrs Scholarship, and the Glenn Miller Scholarship. Chen earned his Bachelor's and Master's degrees at Juilliard, where he won the 2010 Gina Bachauer Piano Competition, the 2010 Munz Scholarship, and first prize at the 2008 Juilliard Concerto Competition. While attending Juilliard, Chen was the recipient of a notable third-party scholarship: the 2010 Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans. In competition, Chen won Second Prize at the 2011 Seoul International Music Competition, Third Prize at the 2013 Morocco Philharmony International Piano Competition, Best Performance of an American Work at the 2009 Cleveland International Piano Competition, and he was a semifinalist at the 2012 Leeds International Piano Competition.

Upcoming performances in the 2014-2015 Pepperdine Rectial Series include those by violinist Hye-Jin Kim on November 9, the Calidore String Quartet on January 18, and cellist Christine Lamprea on February 22.

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