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Composer to Premiere Colonnades for Solo Piano
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Press Contact Only: Richard Selden |
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 Faye Chiao, Oct. 24 |
More Works by Buchanan and Fellow Peabody Student Chiao on Oct. 24
October 20, 2009, Baltimore, MD: Douglas Buchanan, a doctoral candidate in composition at the Peabody Conservatory, will perform the world premiere of his 32-movement piece for piano, Colonnades, on Friday, Oct. 23, at 8:00 pm in Peabody’s Hilda and Douglas Goodwin Recital Hall, 17 East Mount Vernon Place, Baltimore. The concert is free and open to the public.
A virtuosic, concert-length work, Colonnades examines the interplay between humans and nature using themes of faith, memory, individuality, and the function of art in society. Paired with poetry written by Buchanan, the movements in Colonnades are draped over a framework that evokes the image of traveling through a series of colonnades, or interconnected columns. The work’s structure resonates with that of The Vanishing Pavilions by Buchanan’s own teacher at Peabody, Michael Hersch.
Raised in Dallas, where he studied piano, violin, bagpipes, and percussion, Buchanan began formal composition study with Peter Mowrey and Jack Gallagher at the College of Wooster, also training as an organist. Gallagher describes him as “a gifted and imaginative composer possessed of a penetrating intellect.”
After earning his Bachelor of Music degree at the College of Wooster, Buchanan completed Master of Music degrees in composition and music theory pedagogy at Peabody. The recipient of Peabody’s Presser Award, he will perform Colonnades for a diverse array of audiences throughout the United States.
On Saturday, Oct. 24, at 8:00 pm, Buchanan will be joined by fellow doctoral candidate Faye Chiao, also a student of Hersch, to present a program called “Composer/Performer.” Buchanan’s Sonata for Cello and Piano will be performed by Benjamin Buchanan and Jean-Paul Barjon of the University of Tulsa. Chiao will sing excerpts from a recent song cycle along with other works, accompanied by Hui-Chuan Chen, a doctoral candidate in piano at Peabody. The free concert will take place at Mt. Vernon Place United Methodist Church, 10 East Mount Vernon Place, Baltimore.
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Douglas Buchanan, Oct. 23
Faye Chiao, Oct. 24
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About the Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University
Located in the heart of Baltimore’s Mount Vernon Cultural District, the Peabody Institute was founded in 1857 as America’s first academy of music by philanthropist George Peabody. Today, Peabody boasts a preeminent faculty, a nurturing, collaborative learning environment, and the academic resources of one of the nation’s leading universities, Johns Hopkins. Through its degree-granting Conservatory and its community-based Preparatory music and dance school, Peabody trains musicians and dancers of every age and at every level, from small children to seasoned professionals, from dedicated amateurs to winners of international competitions. Each year, Peabody stages nearly 100 major concerts and performances, ranging from classical to contemporary to jazz, many of them free — a testament to the vision of George Peabody.
