The Oconto Falls School District is proud to present the STEINWAY CENTERSTAGE XII concert on Saturday, May 9 in the Falls Area Performing Arts Center. The performance will begin at 3:00 p.m. This year’s featured students will be from the piano studios of Joan Johnson, Carol Ann Lemke, and Grace Skaletski. Student performers include Grace Jahnke, Elisabeth Jeske, Gabrielle Jeske, Kerstin Jeske, Helen Marquardt, Peyton Woelffer, Jacob Woulf, and Nathan Woulf.
This year’s guest artist will be Dr. Michael Rector, Assistant Professor of Music at the University of Wisconsin – Green Bay. Dr. Rector has earned degrees from the Manhattan School of Music, the University of Maryland, Vancouver Academy of Music, and Oberlin College. He is committed to making the language of classical music vivid for people of all ages and backgrounds. As a pianist, he invigorates and expands the repertoire through innovative programming that re-contextualizes familiar pieces and makes vivid new and neglected works. His repertoire ranges from Haydn to Harbison and from Couperin to Carter. He is also a dedicated teacher, researcher and advocate for the arts.
Dr. Rector has performed in fifteen American states and two Canadian provinces in venues like Steinway Hall in New York and the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater in Washington, DC. 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. In 2012, Dr. Rector and his wife, pianist Sylvia Hong, formed Duo Affannato. They have since toured extensively in the United States and Korea. At the 2013 NFMC Ellis Duo Competition, he and his wife won the 2nd prize and Abild award for the best performance of American music. In April 2014, they toured in Eastern Europe, performing concertos with the Georgian Sinfonietta and Black Sea Symphony. Their most recent project together is a crowd-funded commission of music for two pianos that depicts concepts in science through music – Jonathan Kolm’s Creation of Discovery, intended for both concert presentation and outreach to schools and the scientific community.
Dr. Rector holds his doctoral degree from Manhattan School of Music. For the dissertation, he investigated Chopin’s harmonic practice as influenced by the music of Louis Spohr and Romantic philosophy. He also earned a bachelor’s degree from Oberlin College, where he majored in comparative literature. Michael enjoys presenting lecture-recitals and master classes both at home and abroad. His most recent article “Fascinating Corruptions-Historical Editions in Perspective” was published in the February 2014 issue of American Music Teacher.
The Steinway Centerstage concert is free and open to the public. Donations are accepted at the door.