2pm, Tuesday, November 12, 2024
Immerse yourself in an afternoon of musical brilliance with a dynamic cello and piano performance featuring works by Brahms, Wallen, and Debussy. Pianist Yvonne Chen and cellist Francesca McNeeley are excited to showcase these rhapsodic, swirling, and whimsical compositions that are sure to leave listeners captivated. Between two crowd-favorite masterful sonatas by Brahms and Debussy you will hear a trailblazing showpiece by British composer Errollyn Wallen. Meeting as graduate students at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, McNeeley and Chen are excited to reunite in the Houston region to share this “tour de force” program with Cypress Creek FACE.
About the musicians…
Taiwanese-American pianist Yvonne Chen performs across the US as a solo recitalist and a chamber musician. Recent collaborators and presenters include Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra, WindSync, MUSIQA, Performing Arts Houston, Music in Context, DACAMERA, and Houston Chamber Choir. In Houston, upon receiving the 2017 Presser Graduate Music Award at Rice University, she co-founded Loop38, whose concerts have been featured in Houstonia Magazine, Houston CityBook, Arts and Culture TX, and the Houston Chronicle. Originally from the Washington, DC area, Chen received degrees in piano performance from the Juilliard School and graduated with a doctoral degree from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music in December 2019. Chen has recently formed Pipe and Key, a piano-organ duo with organist Yuri McCoy, and has been on the piano faculty of St. John’s School since 2017.
Haitian-American cellist Francesca McNeeley has received critical acclaim as a collaborator and soloist. She enjoys an eclectic career in the Boston area as a chamber musician, orchestral player, and modern music advocate. She is a core member of the Grammy-nominated A Far Cry “self-conducted” chamber orchestra, and a frequent performer with Castle of Our Skins. She has also performed, recorded, and toured with the Boston Symphony and Boston Pops Orchestras, and can be heard on BMOP/sound with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project. Ms. McNeeley graduated Princeton University Phi Beta Kappa, and went on to receive scholarships to attend the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University and the New England Conservatory for her graduate degrees in cello performance. She has earned fellowships and prizes from the Tanglewood Music Center, where she also served as a New Fromm Player. She is dedicated to community engagement through teaching and mentoring. In addition to her private teaching studio, she serves on the faculties for the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra’s Intensive Community Program, Project STEP, as well as the Charles Ives Music Festival at the Western Connecticut Youth Orchestras.
Performance Location: The Centrum, 6823 Cypresswood Dr., Spring 77379
Date & Time: 2:00 p.m., November 12, 2024
Tickets: $18 Adult, $15 Senior, $12 Child/Student, $12 Groups of 6 or more
Season Ticket Sales: On Sale Now – $145 Adult, $120 Senior, $95 Child/Student
Single Ticket Sales: 9am, Thursday, August 1, 2024