Pianist Stephen Beus in Concert at Fine Arts Hall Jan. 31
January 4, 2015
Stephen Beus, the prize-winning and highly praised young American pianist who has
appeared in concerts throughout the world, will appear in concert at 7:30 p.m. Saturday,
Jan. 31, 2015, in the Fine Arts Hall at the Northwest Campus of Santa Fe College,
3000 NW 83 Street, Gainesville. His appearance is part of the college's Master Artist
Series that brings arts professionals to campus to teach and mentor students in dance,
music and theatre, capping their residencies with performances.
Tickets for the performance are $15 for adult orchestra and mezzanine seats; $12 for adult balcony seats; $9 for seniors, children, and University of Florida students and faculty; and free for faculty, staff and students of Santa Fe College. For ticket information, call the Box Office at 352-395-4181. Tickets may be purchased on line at:
https://www.sfcollege.edu/finearts
Beus will lead a Master Class for SF College keyboard students on the Friday before his concert.
Born and raised in eastern Washington, Beus showed unusual early talent and began piano lessons at age 5. He made his orchestral debut four years later and went on to study at Whitman College, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2004, and at The Juilliard School, where he earned a Master of Music in 2006 and an Artist Diploma in 2008.
After winning the Juilliard School Concerto Competition, Beus made his Carnegie Hall debut playing Prokofiev's Concerto No. 3 with the Juilliard Orchestra. In the space of four months in 2006, he won first prize in the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition, the second largest piano competition in the United States (Salt Lake City); first prize in the Vendome International Piano Competition (Lisbon); and was awarded the Max I. Allen Fellowship of the American Pianists Association (Indianapolis).
Commenting on his competition success, Fanfare magazine wrote: "In some ways Beus doesn't fit the mold of the typical competition winner. His playing is strikingly original and, despite his youth, he has an interpretive voice all his own… Above all, his playing is so natural as to seem effortless and the sound he produces has extraordinary richness and depth, not quite like anyone else's."
Internationally recognized, Beus has performed as guest soloist with symphony orchestras in Lisbon, Copenhagen, Morocco, Finland and Germany. He has given solo recitals in London, Paris, Shanghai, Beijing, Naples, Kazakhstan, Russia, Denmark and Switzerland. In the United States, Beus has graced stages in Indianapolis, Nashville, Santa Fe, Fort Worth, Tucson and Salt Lake City in addition to New York.
A Steinway Artist who has recorded on the Endeavor Classics and Harmonia Mundi labels, Beus currently teaches at the University of Oklahoma.
Sponsorship is provided in part by the SF College Fine Arts Department, the SF College Foundation and Arts Patron program, the SF College Student Life Department, and the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture.
Beus will be available for interviews while he is in Gainesville. For more information about him, see:
For more information about the concert, call Fine Arts Department Chairperson Alora Haynes, 352-395-5296, or Cultural Programs Coordinator Kathryn Lehman, 352-395-5355.
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