Pianist Lacey Johnson to Open Spring Music Season at Mary Baldwin

The music department at Mary Baldwin University is pleased to announce the first Sunday Recital of 2014 at 3 p.m. on February 2 at James D. Francis Auditorium. Pianist Lacey Johnson will present a program that features familiar works of Mozart, J.S. Bach, Chopin, and Prokofiev.

Johnson will open with the sparkling French Suite in G Major of J. S. Bach. Next on the program is Sergei Prokofiev’s exciting Second Sonata in D Minor. This highly-accessible work “presents a wide range of emotions,” Johnson says, “including anger, mourning, playfulness, longing, and darkness.” She will continue with Mozart’s vibrant and elegant piano sonata, K. 576 in D Major, a piece which she says “truly presents late Mozart at his best.” The popular Andante spianato and Grande Polonaise brillante of Frederic Chopin rounds out this perfectly-balanced afternoon of music.

Johnson is a faculty member at Mary Baldwin University, and she also teaches at Bridgewater College. She also serves as staff accompanist at the two colleges and has taught at Eastern Mennonite University and James Madison University. She earned a B.A. from Bridgewater College and a master of music from James Madison University, and she is the music director at Bridgewater Presbyterian Church.

Johnson’s program kicks off an exciting spring season of performances at Mary Baldwin. Audiences won’t want to miss the Carl Broman Concert on February 27, featuring a much-anticipated performance by Israeli cellist Amit Peled. Hailed both for his profound artistry and charismatic stage presence, Peled performs world-wide and is already well-known to the Staunton community as a faculty member at the Heifetz Institute. On April 1, the award-winning Japanese marimbist Naoko Takada will captivate the audience with her impeccable technique and wide-ranging style. This season also features Sunday Recitals on March 30 (Elise Blake, violin; Sheng-Yuan Kuan, piano; and Abagail Pack, horn) and April 13 (tenor Donald George and pianist Lucy Mauro), as well as the Spring Choir Concert on April 8.

Single tickets for the February 2 recital may be purchased at the door and are $5 for the general public and $4 for students and seniors (free for Mary Baldwin students, faculty, and staff). For more information call 540-887-7294 or visit Music at Mary Baldwin.