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. ### 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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