Pianist Clement Acevedo Featured at Oct. 23 Sunday Recital

The Sunday Recital Series at Mary Baldwin University will continue on October 23 with pianist Clement Acevedo, who will perform works of Bach, Medtner, Keebaugh, and Chopin. The concert is at 3 p.m. in Francis Auditorium.

Acevedo has performed in the United States, China, and the Philippines, in venues such as Merkin Concert Hall in New York City and the Cultural Center of the Philippines in Manila. An award-winning pianist, he took first place in the National Music Competition for Young Artists in the Philippines and was also a semi-finalist in the Heida Hermanns International Piano Competition. He is on the faculty of Eastern Mennonite University.

The October 23 program will open with one of Bach’s great masterworks, the Partita in A Minor. Acevedo describes this piece as “a personal favorite.” He will continue with several appealing works by Nikolai Medtner, a Russian composer from the Late Romantic Era.   “Music enthusiasts should hear more of (Medtner),” said Acevedo. “The more one listens to him, the more irresistible his music becomes.  It is a highly sensuous experience for the musical brain.” He will also perform a new work, Thread Prelude, by Ryan Keebaugh, a composer who also teaches at Eastern Mennonite University. Keebaugh explains that in this piece, “the title’s symbolism denotes that when one takes the small tip of a roll of thread, one can unwind it more and more. Each ‘thread’ informs us to retreat from darkness and approach the light.” Acevedo adds that “the piece’s pianissimo chords evoke many images.” He will close the program with two exciting, well-known works of Chopin: the Third Ballade and the Fourth Ballade.

Single tickets for October 23 may be purchased at the door and are $5 for the general public and $4 for students and seniors (free for MBU students). Season tickets are also available. To purchase tickets online or find more information, visit https://go.marybaldwin.edu/arts/music/ or call 540-887-7294.