PIANISTS JOHN COUCH, XUN PAN AND THE TRIO CLAVINO HEADLINE
OCTOBER 24 ST. EDWARD’S CONCERT
Renowned pianists John Couch and Xun Pan, as part of the Trio Clavino, will present a concert
at St. Edward’s Episcopal Church on Friday, October 24, 2014 at 7:30 p.m as the church
celebrates its new five-foot Boston grand piano. The church is located at 2453 Harrisburg Pike in
Landisville, and although the event is free, an offering will be taken.
On the program will be works by Mozart, Arutiunian, Arnold, and Schubert. The virtuosic So
rasch wie möglich (as quickly as possible) movement from Robert Schumann’s Piano Sonata No.
2 in G Minor, Op. 22 will be featured, along with Peter Schickele’s Serenade for Three.
Schickele is best known as his alter-ego comedic persona PDQ Bach, and the Schickele
composition features bravura playing as well as whimsy.
The Trio Clavino includes Xun Pan, piano; Doris Hall-Gulati, clarinet; and Simon Maurer, violin
and viola. Artists-in-Residence at Millersville University’s Pre-College Music Division
Program, the Trio Clavino has had several successful tours in Germany, Austria, Belgium,
Switzerland and China. In fact, the Trio Clavino performed in China in May 2013 at the request
of the US Embassy in Beijing. They offered concerts, master classes and outreach programs in
Shanghai, Beijing, Shenyang, Xiaman, Yongding, Wuhan and Changsha.
John Couch is emeritus professor of music at Bloomsburg University and has performed
extensively in Pennsylvania, eastern Canada, Virginia and Washington, DC.
In addition to being a celebration of the new piano at St. Edward’s, the October 24 program
represents the kick-off to the 2014/15 series of events at the church. In December, the church
will host the Hershey Handbell Ensemble. Also during that month, the church will present a
Lessons & Carols service and a Christmas cookie sale. A spring chicken barbecue takes place in
April. To get on the church’s email list for events’ notifications, readers should email:
[email protected] with “Subscribe Events” in the subject line.
St. Edward’s Episcopal Church is a community of faith, giving to God, giving to each other,
giving to the world. The Reverend Canon Stephen C. Casey is its rector. On the web at:
www.Sainteds.org. For more information, call the church at 717.898.6276.
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BIOGRAPHIES OF PERFORMERS
John Couch, pianist
Dr. John Couch began his musical education at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto,
Ontario where, at age 17, he became one of their youngest graduates. After finishing his
undergraduate education at the University of Toronto School of Music, he completed his Master
of Music in Piano Performance at the Indiana University School of Music in Bloomington,
Indiana and his Doctorate of Musical Arts in Piano Performance at the Catholic University of
America in Washington, D.C. He is Emeritus Professor of Music at Bloomsburg University in
Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania.
Dr. Couch is well known throughout the Pennsylvania State University system for his piano
master classes and coaching techniques. His extensive performing experience includes solo,
chamber and orchestral appearances in eastern Canada, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Washington,
D.C. as well as recording projects, which have aired on the Public Broadcasting System.
Doris Hall-Gulati, clarinetist
A graduate of Peabody Conservatory of Music and the University of Michigan, Doris Hall-Gulati
was awarded First Prize in the Louise D. McMahon International Music Competition, and gave
her New York debut, performing the world premiere of John Carbon's "Rhapsody For Clarinet
and Orchestra," at Avery Fischer Hall, Lincoln Center, with Gerard Schwarz and the New York
Chamber Symphony. Ms. Hall-Gulati made her Carnegie (Weill) Hall debut playing with the
Alaria Chamber Ensemble, and her Merkin Hall debut, premiering Thea Musgrave's "Ring Out
Wild Bells," with the Philadelphia Trio.
An advocate for new music, Ms. Hall-Gulati has performed in music festivals and on multiple
series as a soloist and chamber musician, throughout the US, China and Russia and accepted an
invitation to serve as a Visiting Professor at the Lanzhou Multicultural University.
Ms. Hall-Gulati is Principal Clarinet in The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia and also the Bass
Clarinetist in The Opera Company of Philadelphia. She was appointed as Artist in Residence at
Franklin & Marshall College. She can be heard on the MMC, Naxos and New World record
labels.
Simon Maurer, violinist/violist
Simon Maurer grew up in Switzerland and studied music at the Conservatory in Biel, continuing
his violin studies in the U.S. with Geoffrey Michaels at Swarthmore College and Joyce Robbins
at the State University of New York at Stony Brook.
Mr. Maurer is an accomplished musician performing chamber music, solo and orchestra concerts
throughout the eastern United States and Switzerland. He is currently Concertmaster of the
Schuylkill Symphony Orchestra, Assistant Concertmaster of the Pennsylvania Sinfonia, and
performs with Valley Vivaldi, Satori. He has performed as featured soloist in France and
Switzerland with the St. Jean Orchestra of Geneva Switzerland, receiving rave reviews.
A founding member of Gabriel Chamber Ensemble, he has performed with the ensemble
throughout northeastern and central Pennsylvania for 19 years and is artistic director of the
concert series at Jerusalem Lutheran Church in Schuylkill Haven.
Mr. Maurer also ventures into the practice of jazz and free style improvisation. He has been a
featured soloist in Philadelphia area jazz clubs,and has performed at “Jazzfest” in Schuylkill
County. He has recorded numerous projects with folk singers and rock groups.
Xun Pan, pianist
Chinese-American pianist Xun Pan received his early musical training from his grandmother and
pianists-parents, Pan Yiming and Ying Shizhen. He continued his studies at the Central
Conservatory of Music in Beijing, Syracuse University in New York, and earned a Doctor of
Musical Arts degree from Rutgers University.
Mr. Pan has won many international piano competitions and awards, beginning with first prize
in the 1986 China National Piano Competition in Beijing, and the "Dr. Luis Sigall" International
Piano Competition in Chile in 1987, the International Festival Piano Competition in Korea in
1990, the Frinna Awerbuch International Piano Competition in New York in 1992, and the
Artists International Competition in New York in 1993. A student of Theodore Lettvin, Mr. Pan
has performed solo recitals worldwide from Carnegie Weill Hall to the Beijing National Center
for Performing Arts. He has performed in Moscow, Santiago, Singapore, Beijing, Shanghai,
Pyong-Yang, London, Los Angeles, Frankfurt, Taipei, Budapest, New York, Vina Del Mar,
Washington DC, Lisbon, Toronto, Boston, and many other cities in the world.
Mr. Pan has served as a judge in several competitions including the Frinna Awerbuch
International Piano Competition; the United States Music Open Competition in San Francisco,
CA; the Florida International Piano Competition in Orlando, FL; the “Harmony” International
Piano Competition, Chengdu, China; the Kayserburg International Piano Competition, Kunming,
China; and the Maria Clara Cullell International Piano Competition in Costa Rica.
An adjunct professor of piano and director of the Pre-College Music Division at Millersville
University, Mr. Pan is also a visiting professor at China Conservatory of Music, China
Northwest University for Nationalities, Fuzhou University, Yantai University, Shandong
University, Qinghai Normal University, and Wenzhou University. He is the Artistic Director of
the Lancaster International Piano Festival in Pennsylvania.
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