UW News

January 17, 2008

Shin, Nguyen perform music from around the world

Donna Shin, new flute faculty artist at the School of Music, and pianist Alexandra Nguyen, Eastman School of Music, perform music from around the world, including Korean and Chinese folk music, a tango reflecting the bordellos of Argentina (Astor Piazolla), and music of a Bohemian vacationing in Cape Cod (Bohuslav Martinu) in a concert scheduled for 4 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 20 in Brechemin Auditorium.


Flutist Donna Shin has been praised for her beautifully-spun phrases, seductive sound, sterling technique, and charismatic exchanges with the audience. Described as “dazzling” by the Boston Globe, Shin has built an enviable reputation as a versatile performer of solo, chamber, orchestral, jazz and ancient Asian repertoire. Performing in concert halls across the country, Europe and Asia, she is admired for her adventurous programming and expressive flair.


Devoted to the role of artist-teacher, she comes to the University of Washington School of Music after holding faculty posts at the University of South Carolina School of Music and Oklahoma State University. She frequently appears as artist-performer and master class clinician at universities and flute clubs throughout the country, modeling the artist-teacher path for young flutists.


A native of Montréal, Alexandra Nguyen is an accomplished pianist who has appeared throughout the United States and Canada, including performances at the Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall (New York City); the Dame Myra Hess series (Chicago); the 2000 Bartók International Congress (Austin, Texas); and the Societe Pro Musica Chamber Music Series (Montréal, Canada). She is a founding member of two active chamber ensembles, Trio Encantar with oboist Deirdre Chadwick and bassoonist Peter Kolkay, with whom she also appears regularly in recital, and Duo Solaris, with pianist Zarina Melik-Stepanova.


Her honors include the John Newmark Prize at the Prix d’Europe Competition, the Barr Award and the Brooks Smith Fellowship, both at the Eastman School of Music. Awarded the first Performer’s Certificate in Piano Accompanying and Chamber Music at the Eastman School, she was the first recipient of the C. Eschenbach Award, given for outstanding performance in a vocal recital, and was a three-time winner of the Excellence in Accompanying Award.


Nguyen completed her graduate degrees in Piano Accompanying and Chamber Music under the guidance of Jean Barr at the Eastman School, and has studied with pedagogues such as Douglas Humpherys, Anne Epperson, Madeleine Bélanger and Suzanne Goyette. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from McGill University and a Premier Prix from the Conservatoire de musique du Québec a Montréal.


Nguyen currently is the Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs at the Eastman School of Music, where she also teaches 20th century piano literature, coaches chamber music, and coordinates the Colloquium series.


Tickets for the concert are $10 and are available at the door.