Stephen Beus, a soloist since the age of eight and winner of many piano competitions, will perform a recital at 3 p.m. Sunday, April 17, in lower Strong Auditorium on the University of Rochester’s River Campus. The concert is free and open to the public.
Beus, winner of the 2004 Kosciuszko Foundation National Chopin Piano Competition and the 2003 collegiate division of the Music Teachers National Association Competition, made his orchestral debut as a Suzuki student before he could read music. For years, he has maintained an ambitious concert schedule, performing works by Bach, Mozart, Chopin, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, and others. Recently, he was selected as one of 35 pianists worldwide to compete in the 2005 Van Cliburn International Competition in May.
His Rochester performance in the Skalny Lecture and Artist Series is sponsored by the Skalny Center for Polish and Central European Studies, and the Department of Music at the University of Rochester, and the Kosciuszko Foundation, which promotes American understanding of Polish culture and history. Beus’s musical program will include Chopin’s Sonata #3 in B minor, Op. 58, and Rachmaninov’s Sonata #2 in B-flat minor, Op. 36.
Born in Othello, Wash., Beus has played with orchestras in the United States and Europe. He was the winner of the 1996 Junior Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition, and in 1997 won the pre-college level of the Corpus Christi International Concerto Competition. In 2000, he was named the national winner of the Music Teachers National Association Competition. Now 23, he is pursuing a master of music degree at the Juilliard School of Music.
The Skalny Lecture and Artist Series offers lectures, films, musical performances, and other presentations about Poland and Central Europe. For more information, contact the Skalny Center at (585) 275-9898.
Note to editors: A jpeg image of Stephen Beus can be e-mailed to you. Please call (585) 275-4128 or send your request to sdickman@rochester.edu.