AC’s Art Force Piano Series to feature an array of accomplished musicians

The Amarillo College Music Department is pleased to announce its schedule for the 2023-24 Art Force Piano Series, a lineup of compelling musical events to be alternately performed by accomplished guest artists and AC faculty members.

The Piano Series, sponsored by Art Force Amarillo, will feature four hourlong concerts over a seven-month span, and all are free and open to the public.

Each of these concerts will be presented on Tuesday evenings at the Concert Hall Theater on AC’s Washington Street Campus – starting time is 7:30 p.m.

“Our annual Piano Series has become a wonderful tradition that we look forward to renewing each fall,” said Dr. Bruce Lin, artistic director for the Piano Series and director of piano at AC. “Thanks to the generosity of Art Force Amarillo, we are thrilled to again present fantastic, free music at Amarillo College.

“We have some outstanding performers scheduled over the next several months,” he said, “a lineup that I’m sure our music-loving community is going to really enjoy.”

Here are the four concerts that comprise the 2023-24 Art Force Piano Series:

Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023 at 7:30 p.m. – “Classic Hymns and Pop Rock” – Dr. Bruce Lin, piano, and Dr. Jim Laughlin, alto saxophone and piano, both of the AC faculty, will take their audience on a journey through familiar hymns and pop-rock tunes from the 1960s to present. Their selections will encompass a wide range of styles – serious, melancholy and whimsical – and singing along is encouraged!

• Dr. Lin, director of the piano studies at AC, has performed throughout Canada, China, Mexico, Taiwan, and the U.S. He formerly taught at Texas Lutheran University and the University of the Incarnate Word.
  
  
• Dr. Laughlin is a professor of woodwinds, jazz studies and music theory at AC. He is an active performer, adjudicator and clinician throughout the Midwest. He is a member of the Amarillo Symphony on both clarinet and saxophone, and founder and program director for Jim Laughlin June Jazz, a favorite community event at AC that bears his name.

Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023 at 7:30 p.m. – “Songs of the Night” – French-American soprano Jazmin Black Grollemund joins Dr. Nathaniel Fryml, director of choral activities at AC, piano and soprano, to present the world premiere of Fryml’s song cycle NIGHTSFALL. The work is based on poetry by German mystic Novalis and South Carolina native Josh Montgomery. The concert also features some charming French art songs, along with a special guest collaborator.

• Guest artist Black Grollemund made her European operatic debut in 2013 at the Festival Lyrique International de Belle-ile-en-Mer in France. She has been praised by BBC Music Magazine for a voice that is “deep, rich, and flexible, with warmth and color in every register.” The North Carolina native received a Perfectionnement Diploma at the Conservatoire de Versailles.
  
  
• Dr. Fryml, who also serves as artistic director of the Amarillo Master Chorale, actively performs as a keyboard soloist and chamber musician.

Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024 at 7:30 p.m. – “Jam with Love 2024” – A recital featuring music of love that nurtures the Valentine spirit presented by AC’s gifted music faculty. This is a chance for anyone who may be feeling cooped up by the mid-winter’s blustery conditions to get out and listen to some spirited strains of optimism, hope and love.

Tuesday, April 2, 2024 at 7:30 p.m. – “Journey to the East” – Dr. Alex Lee and Dr. Sophie Hung, a husband-wife duo – both faculty at Southwestern Oklahoma State University (SWOSU) – will use violin and piano, respectively, to take their audience on a mesmerizing journey that evokes Eastern culture.

• Dr. Lee is a professor of violin/viola at SWOSU and the conductor of the Symphony Orchestra there. He has performed recitals in Asia and the US, and has also been featured as a soloist, performing concertos with orchestras.
  
  
• Dr. Hung, a Taiwanese-born pianist, is assistant professor of piano at SWOSU. Additionally, she is coordinator and judge of the annual Hubbard-Males piano competition and the Breckenridge piano competition.