February 7, 2012 (Jackson) - Sylvia Hong, Belhaven's newest faculty member in music, will perform with Michael Rector in a Duo Pianist performance on February 11 at 2:00 P.M. in Belhaven's Center for the Arts Concert Hall.
This free recital, which is Hong's first faculty performance at Belhaven, will premiere the Suite No. 2 for Two Pianos, Op. 17 by Sergei Rachmaninoff as the centerpiece.
Hong teaches piano in Belhaven's Music Department. She first attended college at Oberlin Conservatory, where she received her B.A. after earning her Artist Diploma from the Royal Academy of England, she then went on to receive her Performance Diploma from Vancouver Academy. She then finished her Master's in Music at the University of Maryland.
At the age of 16 Hong made her debut with the Mount Vernon Symphony Orchestra where she won the 1st place prize at the National Russian Competition. Since then she has performed in Italy, Korea, England, and her native United States, in such venues as New York's Steinway Hall, Kennedy Center, Avery Fisher, and the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall.
She has honed her skills with performance and study at musical festivals in Bowdoin, New Paltz, Casalmaggiore, Holland, and Las Vegas. She has performed in the master classes of Julian Martin, Yoheved Kaplinsky, Martin Canin, Mario Delli Ponti, Vladimir Feltsman, and Susan Starr.
Michael Rector is a pianist, teacher, writer, lecturer and researcher who is an advocate for classical music. His repertoire ranges from Haydn to Harbison and from Couperin to Carter.
Rector holds a bachelor's degree from Oberlin College, where he majored in comparative literature. He is currently finishing his dissertation, a study of the interpenetration of academic and popular genres in the music of Frederic Chopin-for the doctoral degree at Manhattan School of Music.
Michael has performed in fourteen American states and two Canadian provinces in venues like Steinway Hall in New York and Koerner Recital Hall in Vancouver. He has performed in music festivals in Italy and Russia. He competes frequently in international contests, and is a prize-winner of the Jacob Flier Competition in New York. Formerly of New York City, he is enjoying his new home in Jackson, MS.
Belhaven stands among the select Christian colleges and universities that offer a unique general core curriculum encouraging the development of a personal worldview. The university believes a Christian worldview is a key to preparing men and women academically and spiritually to serve Christ Jesus in their careers, in human relationships, and in the world of ideas.
Founded in 1883, Belhaven University now serves over 3,000 students from campuses in Jackson, Memphis, Orlando, Houston, Chattanooga, Atlanta and online, offering traditional undergraduate degrees, graduate and adult degree programs, and online degree programs.