Department of Music, Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts present guest recital with Kate Rawls, Mei-En Chou

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – The Austin Peay State University Department of Music and the Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts will present a guest artist recital by soprano Kate Rawls and pianist Mei-En Chou on Thursday, Sept. 17 at 7:30 p.m. in the George and Sharon Mabry Concert Hall on the University campus. 

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – The Austin Peay State University Department of Music and the Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts will present a guest artist recital by soprano Kate Rawls and pianist Mei-En Chou on Thursday, Sept. 17 at 7:30 p.m. in the George and Sharon Mabry Concert Hall on the University campus. 

The varied program will feature beautiful, melodic songs and arias by J.S. Bach, Amy Beach, Gabriel Fauré and contemporary American composer, Ben Moore, as well as two exciting and atmospheric solo piano works by Ravel and Bolcom.

Rawls is establishing a fine career in performance. Her opera credits include Miss Pinkerton in “The Old Maid and the Thief,” Mabel in “Pirates of Penzance,” Lucy in “The Telephone,” Sally in “Ben and the Virtues,” and Gretel in “Hänsel und Gretel.” She has recently performed with the Jackson Symphony and given recitals in Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi and South Carolina.  This coming spring, Rawls will be singing with the Rapides Symphony Orchestra in a semi-staged production of Mozart’s “Magic Flute.”

In addition to her performing career, Rawls is an assistant professor of music at Louisiana College in Pineville, Louisiana, where she teaches applied voice, vocal pedagogy, diction and vocal literature. Dr. Rawls earned a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from APSU, followed by a Doctor of Musical Arts in Vocal Performance from the University of South Carolina.

Mei-En Chou, who will play two solo piano works as part of the program, will accompany Rawls. Chou is currently the artist in residence and assistant professor at Louisiana College, and serves on the board of the Louisiana International Piano Competition as director of junior competition. She has appeared with the Dallas American Asian Youth Orchestra (“Carnival of Animals”), Red River Wind Symphony (“Rhapsody in Blue”), Sun Philharmonic Orchestra (“Mozart Two-Piano Concerto,” “K.365”) and North Texas Wind Symphony (“Husa Concertino”). GIA Publications released the CD, “Domains” with NTWS in December 2008. Her upcoming annual recital tours will collaborate with Pianist Chiao-Ju Hung as “MusiC²,” and with Harpist Linda-Rose Hembreiker as “Duo Mystère.”

The concert is free to the public. For more information, contact APSU professor music, Dr. Sharon Mabry at 931-221-7656.