A sold out audience sat spellbound throughout the powerful and passionate performance by Chu-Fang Huang in Grand Valley's Louis Armstrong Theatre on September 13. Huang was the kick-off event of the third annual Fall Arts Celebration at Grand Valley. A finalist in June at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition and first place winner at the more recent Cleveland International Piano Competition, Huang has plenty of experience impressing audiences.
At the age of 12, the Chinese-born pianist was accepted on full scholarship as the youngest student in the Shenyang Music Conservatory's pre-college division. Two months after moving to the United States, in 1998 at the age of 15, she made her U.S. debut on the Prodigy Series of the La Jolla Music Society. She has performed throughout China, Europe and the United States.
Her performance here included challenging and powerful selections from Scarlatti, Hayden, Ravel and Liszt, intensified by Huang's dramatic facial expressions and full-body movement as she became one with the music. Her encore selection, a sonata by Hayden, was refreshing and uplifting.
Huang recently graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music and is currently pursuing her master's degree at the Julliard School of Music. The 23-year-old taught and critiqued students Shawn MacDonald and Candice Surjana during a Master Class at Grand Valley, the day before her concert. Huang said she doesn't have the patience to teach full-time, but enjoys the opportunity on occasion. She has been teaching Master Classes for the past three years. Her first passion is performing, which she continues next week in China.
