Pianist Daniel Hsu to Perform at Center for the Arts at Pepperdine

The Lisa Smith Wengler Center for the Arts continues its 2016-2017 Recital Series with a performance by the First Prize winner at the 2015 CAG Victor Elmaleh Competition, pianist Daniel Hsu in Raitt Recital Hall at Pepperdine University at 2 p.m. on Sunday, November 20, 2016.

Tickets are currently sold out for this performance. To be put on a waitlist, contact (310) 506-4522 or visit arts.pepperdine.edu. More information about Daniel Hsu available at daniel.hsumusic.com.

The program will include Johann Bach's Chacoone from the Partita No. 2 in D Minor for Unaccompanied Violin, BWV 1004; Franz Schubert's Four Impromptus, D. 899; and Johannes Brahms' Variations and Fugue in B-flat Major on a Theme by Handel, Op. 24.

A 2016 Gilmore Young Artist, eighteen-year-old Daniel Hsu is a fast-rising pianist who was recently named the First Prize winner at the 2015 CAG Victor Elmaleh Competition. He has earned top prizes in numerous other competitions, most recently the Bronze medal at the 9th Hamamatsu International Piano Competition in Japan, and first prize at the San Jose International Piano Competition, Pacific Musical Society Piano Competition and San Francisco Chopin Competition.

Earlier this year, Daniel performed at the Gilmore International Keyboard Festival, Festival Napa Valley, Trust Performing Arts Center, Keneseth Israel, and the Curtis Institute of Music. Daniel's New York recital debut at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall is slotted for spring 2017. Other recent recital highlights include performances in Japan at the Tokyo Bunka Kaikan and ACT City Hamamatsu's Concert and Main Halls. WHYY's On Stage at Curtis public radio and television program will also feature some of Daniel's recent performances at Curtis, including a highly acclaimed performance of the last three Beethoven piano sonatas with siblings Ashley and Andrew.

Featured concerto performances include the Lansing Symphony Orchestra at the Wharton Center (also as part of the 2016 Gilmore Festival), and in 2016-17 with the Grand Rapids Symphony and the New Haven Symphony. He also recently was a featured soloist with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, and in the US he has appeared with the El Camino Youth Symphony, Fremont Symphony Orchestra and Golden Gate Philharmonic.

A native of the San Francisco Bay Area, Daniel Hsu is the Richard A. Doran Fellow at the Curtis Institute of Music, studying with Gary Graffman and Eleanor Sokoloff for the past eight years, and he is also a recipient of a Williamson Foundation for Music Grant in 2015. He began his studies at the age of six with Larisa Kagan and also studied with Hans Boepple, Erna Gulabyan and Olya Katsman before being accepted into Curtis at the age of ten. In addition to his musical endeavors, Daniel enjoys computers and programming. One of his many projects include contributing to Workflow, a recipient of the 2015 Apple Design Award, which has been praised not only for its design and technical innovation and creativity, but also for improving the experience of using mobile devices for visually impaired users.

The Recital Series at Pepperdine University has delighted audiences with new and emerging classical musicians since 1993. With intimate Sunday afternoon performances in Raitt Recital Hall, the series is nationally known for the high quality of its performances, the stunning location, the beautiful and acoustically superior venues, and the engagement and loyalty of its audience. Many of the featured artists have gone on to significant critical and professional acclaim, including cellist Johannes Moser, pianist Haochen Zhang, soprano Jessica Rivera, and cellist Alisa Weilerstein.

Upcoming performances in the 2016-2017 Recital Series include clarinetist Narek Arutyunian on February 12 (sold out) and cellist Jacob Shaw on April 2 (sold out).

The Lisa Smith Wengler Center for the Arts at Pepperdine University provides high-quality activities for over 50,000 people f­­rom 808 zip codes annually through performances, rehearsals, museum exhibitions, and master classes. Located on Pepperdine's breathtaking Malibu campus overlooking the Pacific, the center serves as a hub for the arts, uniquely linking professional guest artists with Pepperdine students as well as patrons from surrounding Southern California communities. Facilities include the 450-seat Smothers Theatre, the 118-seat Raitt Recital Hall, the "black box" Helen E. Lindhurst Theatre, and the Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art.

IF YOU GO:

WHEN: Sunday, November 20, 2016 at 2 p.m.

WHERE: Raitt Recital Hall, Pepperdine University, 24255 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, CA

TICKETS: (310) 506-4522 or arts.pepperdine.edu

PRICES: $28 for public; $10 for Pepperdine students; currently Sold Out