NFSO Guest Artist: Pianist Larry Weng

The Northwest Florida Symphony Orchestra's 30th Season offers a wonderful series of intimate GUEST ARTIST RECITALS in the Tyler Recital Hall of the Mattie Kelly Fine & Performing Arts Center in Niceville, Florida. International and National Guest Artists appear in the series which is graciously underwritten through a gift from Guy and Judy-ann Zoghby Family Trust.

Renowned artists perform in solo concerts in the Tyler Recital Hall of the Mattie Kelly Fine & Performing Arts Center on the Niceville campus of Northwest Florida State College. Tickets are $20 each and are available by phone (850) 729-6000, web or in-person from the Mattie Kelly Arts Center Box Office.

GUEST ARTIST - LARRY WENG - PIANO | Tyler Recital Hall on May 20 7:30pm

Mr. Weng is a laureate of the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Concerto Competition, the Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition for Young Musicians, The New York International Piano Competition, the Kosciuzsko Foundation Chopin Competition, the Wideman International Piano Competition, and the Queen Elisabeth Competition.

Mr. Weng has been described in The New York Times as, “the Prokofiev Seventh Sonata, with its arm-blurring perpetual-motion finale, was played with steely power and incisive rhythm by Larry Weng.” Of his 2014 New York debut at Weill Hall, the New York Concert Review described him as “an extremely sensitive musician and mature interpreter,” and “mature beyond his years.” Of his Alborado del Gracioso, Harry Rolnick of ConcertoNet exclaimed, “Radiant and transparent, picturesque and picaresque, wild but with the artistic perfection of wildness.”

Mr. Weng has been featured in concert in France, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, China, Japan, Brazil, and Venezuela, and has performed in many of the world’s renowned concert halls, including Boston’s Symphony Hall, New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall, Weill Recital Hall, Merkin Hall, SubCulture, the Salle Cortot, and the Sala Sao Paolo. He has appeared as soloist with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, the New England Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and the Orchestra Nationale de Belgique under the baton of Marin Alsop.

Last season, he made his Stern Auditorium debut playing Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy with Mark Shapiro leading the Cecilia Choir and Orchestra. His performances have also been broadcast on WQXR’s “McGraw Hill Financial Young Artists Showcase” in New York City. His recent engagements include a performance of Mozart concerto K. 453 with members of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in White Plains, and solo recitals in Shreveport, Washington DC, and New York City.

An avid chamber musician and collaborator, Mr. Weng has participated in the Ravinia Steans Institute and the Verbier Academy, and has worked with renowned musicians such as Claude and Pamela Frank, Gabor Takacs, David Shifrin, David Soyer, amongst others. He is a frequent collaborator at the Lisker Music Foundation concert series in Chicago, as well as the Downtown Music at Grace in White Plains.

In 2009, Mr. Weng graduated from the highly selective joint degree program between Columbia University and The Juilliard School with a BA in Economics and an MM in Piano Performance under the tutelage of Professors Jerome Lowenthal and Matti Raekallio. He continued his studies with Professor Boris Berman at the Yale School of Music, where he has completed the residential portion of their doctoral degree program and was awarded a Master of Musical Arts degree in May 2014. Mr. Weng explored the topics of timelessness and memory in Schubert’s late works, which hold a special place in his repertoire and musical interests.

During his time at Yale, Mr. Weng served as an instructor in undergraduate piano and secondary piano. He is currently on faculty at the Turtle Bay School of Music, and maintains a private studio in Manhattan, where he resides.

The Northwest Florida Symphony Orchestra (NFSO) is the Emerald Coast’s premier, fully professional orchestra - since 1987! The NFSO performs in residence at the magnificent $30 million Mattie Kelly Fine & Performing Arts Center, located at Northwest Florida State College in Niceville. NFSO concerts are held in the center’s 1,650 mainstage theater where a custom orchestra shell provides the optimum in acoustics for symphony patrons. The NFSO is a non-profit organization operated under the auspices of Northwest Florida State College. Website: http://www.nfsymphony.org

Niceville campus of NWF State College is located at 100 College Boulevard and is easily accessible via U.S. Highway 285, Highway 85 and the Mid-Bay Bridge. For more information, a season brochure or to purchase tickets call 729-6000 or visit http://www.mattiekellyartscenter.org. Follow Mattie Kelly Arts Center on Facebook for updates on season performances and special events.