Dr. Svetlana Belsky is scheduled to play Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall on Wednesday, May 1st at 8:00 pm. We are honored to host the pianist who has been described as “a passionate pianist and scholar.” Dr. Belsky was born in the Soviet Union but was trained primarily in the United States with teachers such as Chicago’s Emilio Del Rosario. She received both her Bachelor of Music and Master Degrees from the Peabody conservatory of Music and her Doctorate in Performance at the Manhattan School of Music. Dr. Belsky is currently the Coordinator of Piano Studies at the University of Chicago.
Please don’t miss this wonderful opportunity to see this pianist extraordinaire.
Popular among flutists around the world, Ms. Porter has appeared with orchestras across the U.S. and abroad, and has been acclaimed for her compelling and energetic performances. Currently, reviewers rave about her moving interpretation of Michael Daugherty’s Trail of Tears Concerto writing,” as played by the charismatic soloist Amy Porter (with whom Daugherty collaborated in writing ‘Trail of Tears’), no instrument could conceivably sound more lively or richly expressive.” (Mississippi News). Regarding her Carnegie Hall performance, Allan Kozinn of the NY Times wrote, “Amy Porter played with graceful poise.”Ms. Porter has appeared notably at New York’s Carnegie Hall, Taipei’s National Theater Concert Hall, Muramatsu Hall in Osaka, Japan and in recital on National Public Radio. She was highlighted on PBS Live From Lincoln Center and featured on the magazine covers of Flute Talk Magazine in the USA, The Flute Magazine in Japan and Muramatsu Flute Magazine in Japan.
University of Arkansas music professor James Greeson, a nationally respected jazz guitarist and composer, was inducted into the Arkansas Jazz Hall of Fame last month.
Greeson’s compositions have been performed throughout the United States, including Carnegie Hall. He has performed as a guitarist or bassist with many important current jazz musicians, including Nnenna Freelon, Randy Brecker, Chris Potter, Bruce Barth, Mulgrew Miller and Bob Dorrough. Many of his jazz band scores have been played throughout the region, some of which are published by the University of Colorado Jazz Press.