Jessica Tong, with Michael Sheppard.
Violinist Jessica Tong and her musical partner will give a recital that explores the nature of sacred and profane music.
Michael Sheppard, a pianist and composer, will join Associate Professor Tong on the Juliet J. Rosch Recital stage on Thursday, Sept. 25, at 8 p.m. The recital is free and open to the public.
Two major works by acclaimed German composers Johann Sebastian Bach and Johannes Brahms are beloved, but the work by Swiss-born American composer Ernest Bloch is very rarely performed because of its fiendish intensity and technical demands on both instruments, Tong explained.
Michael is a phenomenal pianist who has the breadth and capacity to play anything and everything with impeccable stylistic and technical accuracy, from traditional classical music, full-score orchestral reductions, to Broadway musical tunes.” — Jessica Tong
Their Rosch recital will be the first performance of this program ahead of a tour that includes Juneau, Haines and Skagway, AK; Neskowin, OR, and Easton, MA.
Tong and Mr. Sheppard, who have performed as a duo for more than a decade, met at the Peabody Institute at the Johns Hopkins University, where they discovered they share a very rare singular vision in their approaches to music-making. Tong and Sheppard have continued to collaborate ever since that first performance, presenting inventive and adventurous programs that integrate both well-loved and lesser-known masterpieces for violin and piano.
“Michael is a phenomenal pianist who has the breadth and capacity to play anything and everything with impeccable stylistic and technical accuracy,” Tong explained, “from traditional classical music, full-score orchestral reductions, to Broadway musical tunes.”
Sheppard, who performs solo recitals and concertos around the world, is affiliated with the Peabody and the Baltimore School for the Arts.
