Taiwanese-American Star Musician Will Open WT’s 2023 Hamilton Piano Festival

CANYON, Texas — A prizewinning musician will open the 2023 Grace Hamilton Piano Festival at West Texas A&M University.

Hsiang Tu—a prizewinner at the New Orleans International Piano Competition, the Iowa International Piano Competition, and the American Paderewski Piano Competition— will perform at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 24 in Mary Moody Northen Recital Hall on WT’s Canyon campus.

Admission is $10 for adults, $5 for non-WT students and free for festival participants and WT students, faculty and staff with a Buff Gold Card.

Tu’s concert will feature his carefully curated program “The Ivory Menagerie,” featuring works inspired by the animal kingdom.

“I have had the pleasure of hearing Dr. Tu perform on multiple occasions, and our community is in for a real treat,” said Dr. Sarah Rushing, assistant professor of piano and festival co-director. “His animalthemed program includes works ranging from Baroque to present day and is sure to be a delight to children and adults alike.”

And the concert is only part of the festival, which is at least 60 years old. In 2016, it was named for Hamilton, an influential area piano instructor who cofounded the Amarillo Symphony and was its first pianist. More than 80 students from around the Panhandle and Eastern New Mexico perform throughout the day Feb. 25, concluding with an honors recital at 2 p.m. in the recital hall inside the Sybil B. Harrington Fine Arts Complex

“Typically, piano playing is a solo endeavor; students spend hours perfecting their craft alone throughout the week,” Rushing said. “The festival gathers pianists together from all over the Panhandle and surrounding regions and aims to foster a collaborative atmosphere where students can interact as they work toward their common goal of advancing as musicians.”