Featuring music by Beethoven, Gottschalk and Tcherepnin, Cowley College piano instructor, Dr. Gloria Tham, gave an impressive performance during her piano recital Tuesday night in the Robert Brown Theatre.
Dr. Tham also played several transcriptions, namely Bach’s Chorale “Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme” by Wilhelm Kempff, and two Chinese pieces by Chen Peixun and Chu Wanghua.
The pieces selected were to display both a variety of techniques and range of emotion.
“Of all the pieces, the Beethoven “Pathetique” Sonata was the most emotionally challenging to be able to express and convey the “pathos” he intended,” Dr. Tham said. “The middle movement of that sonata has such a longing and ends with great resolve. There’s only one word to describe it – sublime.”
Dr. Tham considered Gottschalk’s Souvenir de Porto Rico to be technically the most difficult because she has to hold her maximum hand span and play loudly for an extended period of time.
The recital was filled with intensity and excitement.
“Last night was a special evening for me in my performance experience and I’m so glad to be able to share that with many of my piano students,” Dr. Tham said.
Dr. Tham will have three other performances in April. On Sunday, she will perform at First United Methodist Church in Ponca City, OK at 2 p.m. Dr. Tham will be joined by Rebecca Tast, cellist, to perform a movement from Schumann’s Fantasy Pieces, op. 73. A graduate of the University of Kansas, Tast is the orchestra director for the Arkansas City School District. She has held the position for three years and was recently named the Young Teacher of the Year by the Kansas American String Teachers Association.
On April 21, she will perform a Master Class and Recital at Central Christian College in McPherson at 7:30 p.m. Her final performance in April will take place April 29 at College Avenue United Methodist Church in Manhattan, KS at 7 p.m.
All performances are free and open to the public.
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