Armenian Clarinetist Performs at Next Broman Concert

The concert season at Mary Baldwin University will continue with a Broman Concert at 8 p.m. November 10 in Francis Auditorium, featuring the brilliant young Armenian clarinetist Narek Arutyunian, who will take the stage alongside award-winning pianist Yekwon Sunwoo.

These two Julliard-trained musicians have chosen an interesting and varied program, including the entertaining Fantasy on Themes from Verdi’s “Rigoletto” by Luigi Bassi, along with Prokofiev’s exciting Sonata in D Major (originally written for flute and piano).  In addition, they will perform Hebrew Melodies in the form of a Suite by Jacob Weinberg and the Sonata for Solo Clarinet by Russian composer Edison Denisov.  Arutyunian will further showcase his diverse musical interests by performing Paul Schonfield’s Sonatina for Klezmer clarinet and piano.

Arutyunian has performed extensively in the United States, Australia, and Asia, and in Europe, where he has appeared at such venues as the Louvre in Paris and the Palazzo del Principe in Genoa. By the age of 16, he had already won first prizes in the International Young Musicians Competition in Prague and the Musical Youth of the Planet Competition in Moscow. He was also a winner of the 2010 Young Concert Artists International Auditions, and The Washington Post has praised him as an artist who “reaches passionate depths with seemingly effortless technical prowess and beguiling sensitivity.” His growing career has also included numerous educational outreach programs in New York City public schools and around the country.

A winner of the 2013 Sendai International Music Competition and the 2012 William Kapell International Piano Competition, Korean pianist Sunwoo has performed as a soloist with numerous orchestras, including the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra , the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Daegu City Symphony Orchestra. In addition, he has given many recitals throughout France, the United States, Canada, Germany, Switzerland, and Morocco, and he made his New York City debut at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in 2009.

Tickets for the November 10 concert may be purchased at the door and are $20 for the general public, $15 for seniors, and $5 for students (Mary Baldwin students free). For more information call 540-887-7294 or visit go.marybaldwin.edu/arts/musicatmbc.