Steinway Society Presents "Young Artists Concert"

Steinway Society The Bay Area announces its first annual “Young Artists Concert”. The format is intended to showcase young artists with extraordinary assets and potential selected from various Bay Area piano competitions. They will provide the audience an early preview of what can be expected to be extraordinary careers and possibly become one of the musically elite that can be called stars. The four artists, Doreen Lee, Luis Magalhaes, Beth Nam, and Darrett Zusko, will perform on Sunday, February 23, 2003 at 7:00pm at Le Petit Trianon Theatre in downtown San Jose, California.

Entering its ninth season the Steinway Society is a non-profit volunteer based organization whose mission is “To promote excellence in piano performance and music education in the Bay Area”. The “Young Artists Concert” is the fourth of the six concerts of the 2002-2003 Season.

LUIS MAGALHÃES
Luis Magalhaes was born in 1976 in Lousado, Portugal. He started his studies at the age of five and continued at the Conservatorium with Prof. Eduardo Rocha and Prof. José Alexandre Reis. In 1998 he receives his B.Mus with distinction under the tutelage of Prof. Pedro Burmester at the University of Porto.

Luis has won several prizes at national and international competitions, including first prize at the 1992 and 1997 Maria Campina Competitions, second prize at Juventude Musical Portuguesa Competition in 1992, second prize at Jovens Músicos Competition in 1995, honorary mention at Helena Sá e Costa Competition in 1996 and second Prize at the 2002 International Russian Music Piano Competition, USA. Luis was also recognized at the competition for Best Performance of Rachmaninoff. He has performed in master classes with Helena Sa’e Costa, Paul Badora-Skoda, Dimitri Bashkirov, Alicia de Larrocha, Laszlo Simon, Tania Achot, Vitaly Margulis among others.

Luis has concertized since the age of nine and has participated in numerous recital and concerto tours in South America, Europe and Asia. In January 1999 Luis enrolled in a Masters of Music program at the University of North Texas under the tutelage of famed pianist and pedagogue Vladimir Viardo. In 2002 he received his Masters with distinction from the University of Stellenbosch. Luis is now enrolled at the University of Cape Town working towards his Doctorate in Performance. He appears in concert regularly with his wife and fellow-pianist Nina Schumann. He is a scholarship recipient of Fundação Calouste Gubenkian.

Luis Magalhaes will perform works from Ravel – Miroirs: Noctuelles, Oiseay Tristes, Alborada del gracioso and Rachmaninoff/Kreisler – Liebesfreud.

DARRETT ZUSKO
Canadian pianist Darrett Zusko is quickly establishing himself as an artist throughout North America, performing solo recitals and as a guest artist with orchestras in Canada and the United States. Born in Windsor, Ontario, Darrett began piano study at the age of four. He is now the recipient of numerous prestigious awards including the Grand Prize at the 2002 CMC International Stepping Stone in Ottawa Canada, Third Prize at the 2002 International Russian Music Piano Competition, First Prize at the 2001 Oberlin International Piano Competition, and First Prize at the Twentieth Bartok-Kabalevsky-Prokofiev International Piano Competition. Now only eighteen years old, Mr. Zusko has had the opportunity to study with such renowned artists as Barry Snyder, Anton Kuerti, Paul Ostrovsky, and Daniel Shapiro to name but a few. For the past few years, Darrett studied extensively with renowned pianist Ronald Turini (a student of the legendary Vladimir Horowitz). Mr. Zusko is now currently enrolled in the bachelor of music program at the Juilliard School in New York as a student of Julian Martin.
Darrett Zusko will perform five preludes by Rachmaninoff and Islamey by Balakirev, preluded by Scriabin.

BETH NAM
Beth Nam is nineteen years old and is a graduate of West High School in Torrance, California where she was a student conductor, singer, and accompanist in the Advanced Choir (Aristocracy). She was also nominated for Who’s Who among high school students in the US. Beth has been the winner of the Korea Rimes Piano Competition in Korea (1993) as well as a Violin Competition Winner. In that year she joined the Youth Choir sponsored by the City of Seoul and sang solo for Korea’s 50th Independence Day Ceremony. She also sang as a soloist with them in Hong Kong.
Her first piano study was with her mother at the age of 9. She came to the US in August of 1996 and studied with Mrs. Hak Soon Swiatkowski for four years. The following year, she performed with the Pasadena Summer Youth Chamber Orchestra. During her five years in California, she has been a winner of the Southwestern Youth Music Festival, the US Open Concerto Competition in San Francisco, the Torrance Symphony Association’s Bramhal Concerto Competition for Young Artist, and the Southern California Junior Bach Festival. She also won honorable mention in an ARTS Competition in Florida and has won scholarships from the Young Musicians Foundation (1998 & 1999). She was assistant conductor for Bel Canto ensemble of the South Bay Children’s Choir and accompanist for the Choraliers of the same choir.

In 2001, she was the winner of the Fifteenth Annual Young Pianist Beethoven Competition in San Jose, Arts Recognition Award of the Arts Council of Torrance, Friends of Cerritos Performing Arts Scholarship Program, Emerging Young Artist Competition, California Federation of Women’s Club Annual District Music Scholarship, International District of the Rotary Club Competition, El Camino College Music Faculty Scholarship, Peninsula Symphony Association Scholarship, Los Cancioneros Master Chorale Music Scholarship, and the Vladmir Horowitz scholarship from the Juilliard School. She studied with Lois Roberts since August of 2000 and is currently a student at the Juilliard School, studying with Mr. Martin Canin.

Beth Nam will perform the Sonata Opus 2, No. 2 of Beethoven.

DOREEN LEE
Doreen Lee began her musical studies at age six. Her primary teachers have included Chin Kao, Professor John Delevoryas, and Dr. Haggai Niv. At age eight, she took First Place at the Chinese Cultural Competition of San Francisco, an award she won for the next three consecutive years. She participated in the Chinese Overseas Competition for several years, always placing among the top three winners. She has also participated and won in the annual Junior Bach Society Competition. At age thirteen, she was invited by conductor Jason Klein to perform the Mendelssohn Piano Concerto in G Minor with the South Valley Orchestra. In July of 2002, she placed third in the International Festival De Musica Classica in Puigcerda, Spain. Currently, Doreen is pursuing a major in music at UCLA.
Doreen Lee will perform Chopin’s Impromptu in F-sharp Major, Op. 36, “Movement” from Images I, by Debussy and the Prokofieff third piano Sonata.

Le Petit Trianon Theatre, www.trianontheatre.com, is located in downtown San Jose at 72 North 5th Street. Tickets are priced at $15.00 and $10.00 for students and seniors 65 and over, and will include complimentary refreshements at a post concert “meet the artist reception” and intermission. For tickets and information please call 408-246-4200 or contact the Steinway Society website at www.steinwaythebayarea.com.