The Liliane Questel Recital Series at the Southampton Cultural Center will present a concert by Tian Tang, an acclaimed pianist, on Saturday at 6 p.m. Known for programs that are thematically woven and intellectually curated, her performances have been praised by China's Taizhou Evening News for music "flowing with the ease of water and striking the heartstrings."
The evening's program "traces a luminous arc through the piano literature -- the beloved lyricism of Schubert and the shimmering impressionism of Debussy, the ultra-romantic fervor of Scriabin, and the elegant, unmistakably French voice of Poulenc," said Konstantin Soukhovetski, the cultural center's artistic director. "The program also features Chu Wanghua's 'Jasmine Flower Fantasia' (2002), a contemporary re-imagining of one of China's most iconic melodies."
While she is an active concert pianist, Ms. Tang's recitals often incorporate poetry, painting, storytelling, and visual media as well. "Tian's Musical Voyages," a multimedia concert series, brings those disciplines together.
She has won first prizes at the Weatherford (2022), Paderewski (2020), Memphis (2019), Luminarts Fellowship (2018), and Thaviu-Isaac (2018) competitions. Her performances have taken her to the United States, Italy, Spain, Georgia, and across China; she is a regular guest on Taizhou Music Radio and a dedicated advocate for volunteer performance in underserved communities.
A candidate for a doctorate of musical arts at Northwestern University, Ms. Tang is the founder of the interactive Piano Workshop, a project centered on collaborative, improvisatory learning. She has been recognized for her cultural work as an honorary member of the Taizhou Musicians Association.
Tickets are $25 plus fees.
The next session of the "East Meets West Jazz Jam Session," a collaboration between East End Jazz and the Southampton Cultural Center, will take place on Sunday from 2 to 5 p.m. at the center.
The free program will start with a 35-minute performance by Real East End Brass, a New Orleans-style brass band composed of local East End musicians and educators. It will be followed by the jazz jam session, during which musicians and vocalists of all skill levels can participate. Musicians can sign up to play by emailing [email protected].
Of the series' inaugural session, Iris Ornig, a bassist, composer, and the director of East End Jazz, said, "We had all generations participating in the jazz jam session, from 14 years old to almost 80 years old. The audience was dancing to some swing tunes, and all in all everybody had a good time."
East End Jazz is a nonprofit dedicated to educating, entertaining, and inspiring a community of children, parents, students, teachers, and audience members through live jazz performance and education.
