Two distinguished SVSU professors took part in a chamber recital in the Rhea Miller Concert Hall on Tuesday, Apr. 5.
The recital featured Dr. Yeagi Broadwell, who played the violin, and Dr. Chia-Ying Chan, who played the piano.
In addition to this, the event also hosted professors from Alma College and Central Michigan University.
Chan was born in Taiwan and is a graduate of the University of Illinois. She has an extensive history of performances and awards for her piano skills, including multiple recitals at Carnegie Hall and the Elite Award from the National University of Tainan in Taiwan in 2007.
Broadwell was born in Korea, where she began playing the violin at age seven. She graduated from the University of Utah with a Doctorate of Musical Arts degree.
She currently teaches string methods at SVSU.
Broadwell gave insight into how she came to be a musician.
“I have always felt a special tie to music and wanted to become a professional violinist since (I was) five,” Broadwell said. “Music has taken me to various parts of the world, including studying at a music boarding school in Novosibirsk, Russia during my teenage years, moving to the United States at the age of 17, and living in the Netherlands for two years for my Master’s.”
The performance consisted of two pieces: “Schumann Piano Quintet in E-flat Major” and “Astor Piazzolla- Oblivion.” “Schumann Piano Quintet” was written in 1842 and contains 4 separate movements.
It is a widely regarded chamber piece.
It is also known for its exuberance in the music community.
“Oblivion” is a far more recent piece. It was composed originally for the bandoneon in 1982 and has since been adapted for many different instruments and groups.
Broadwell elaborated on the history of this piece.
“Astor Piazzolla is an Argentinian composer known for his tango compositions,” Broadwell said. “His Oblivion was featured in the 1984 Italian film ‘Enrico IV.’”
She also explained that this piece has had a lot of variety over the years.
“There are many versions of this piece for various instrumentations, but the version we played tonight was arranged by a Russian pianist, Vyacheslav Gryaznov, for a piano quintet,“ Broadwell said.
The recital ended with a group of children from the audience presenting the performers with bouquets after the final piece.
Kendrick Raleigh, a sophomore music education major who attended the concert, shared his thoughts on the experience.
“I thought it was overall really good,” Raleigh said. “I’m in string methods right now and it’s really challenging, but hearing that was really good.”
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