Acclaimed Cellist Performs Recital At The Center For The Arts

Cellist Zlatomir Fung comes to Pepperdine University's Raitt Recital Hall at 2 p.m. on Sunday, November 24, 2019 as part of the Recital Series for the 2019-2020 season.

Tickets are sold out for this performance, but those interested may call the box office at 310-506-4522 to be put on the waiting list. More information about Fung is available at zlatomirfung.com.

His program includes Gabrieli's Cello Sonata No. 1 in G Major, Mayaskovsky's Cello Sonata No. 2, Op. 81, Estrin's [Premiere], Balch's Prelude, and Brahms' E Minor Cello Sonata.

The first American in three decades and youngest musician ever to win First Prize at the International Tchaikovsky Competition Cello Division, Zlatomir Fung is poised to become one of the preeminent cellists of our time. Astounding audiences with his boundless virtuosity and exquisite sensitivity, the 20-year-old has already proven himself to be a star among the next generation of world-class musicians. Fung's impeccable technique demonstrates a mastery of the canon and exceptional insight into the depths of contemporary repertoire.

In the 2019-2020 season, Fung performs with orchestra and in recital in all corners of North America. He returns to the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra, and debuts with Asheville and Aiken Symphony Orchestras, Plymouth Philharmonic, and Symphony Pro Musica in Hudson, Massachusetts. He performs at Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall in a joint recital with fellow Tchaikovsky Competition winners in October, following a recital at Friends of Music in Sleepy Hollow, NY. Other recitals include Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York, Syrinx Concerts in Toronto, the Embassy Series in Washington DC, Salon de Virtuosi and Bulgarian Concert Evenings in New York City, Chamber on the Mountain in Ojai, Evergreen Museum & Library in Baltimore, and Mainly Mozart in Coral Gables. At the Artist Series of Sarasota, Fung will perform the complete works for cello and piano by Beethoven.

As a chamber musician, Fung performs around the world, opening the season with IMS Prussia Cove on Tour to London's Wigmore Hall, Cornwall, Cambridge, West Sussex, and Somerset. He closes the season at Dresdner Musikfestspiele. New York City chamber music engagements include the Aspect Foundation and Jupiter Chamber Players. During the summer of 2019, Fung performs at Musique de Chambre à Giverny, a chamber music festival in northern France.

Fung started his career with Young Concert Artists. A winner of the 2017 Young Concert Artists International Auditions and the 2017 Astral National Auditions, Fung has taken the top prizes at the 2018 Alice & Eleonore Schoenfeld International String Competition, 2016 George Enescu International Cello Competition, 2015 Johansen International Competition for Young String Players, 2014 Stulberg International String Competition, and 2014 Irving Klein International Competition. He was selected as a 2016 US Presidential Scholar for the Arts and was awarded the 2016 Landgrave von Hesse Prize at the Kronberg Academy Cello Masterclasses.

Of Bulgarian-Chinese heritage, Fung began playing cello at age three and earned fellowships at Ravinia's Steans Music Institute, Heifetz International Music Institute, MusicAlp, and the Aspen Music Festival and School. A proud recipient of the Kovner Fellowship, Fung currently studies at the Juilliard School under the tutelage of Richard Aaron and Timothy Eddy. Fung has been featured on NPR's Performance Today and has appeared on From the Top six times. Fung plays a W. E. Hill and Sons cello from 1905. In addition to music, he enjoys cinema, reading, and blitz chess.

The Lisa Smith Wengler Center for the Arts at Pepperdine University provides high-quality activities for over 50,000 people from over 1,000 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.

Raitt Recital Hall, Pepperdine University, 24255 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, CA/ TICKETS: (310) 506-4522 or arts.pepperdine.edu. PRICES: $28 for adults, $10 for Pepperdine students. This show is sold out; call to be added to the waiting list.