Pianist Alessio Bax to play tonight on campus

Western Washington University’s Sanford-Hill Piano Series will feature Italian pianist Alessio Bax in concert at 7:30 p.m. on May 10 at Western’s Performing Arts Center Concert Hall.

Tickets for the concert are available through Western’s Box Office and are $9 for students, $18 for seniors, Western faculty and staff, and $24 for the general public.

Bax is the third gold medalist to be featured during the 2012-2013 “Season of Pure Gold” celebrating the Sanford-Hill Piano Series’ 10th anniversary season.

Bax won his gold medal at the Leeds International Piano Competition in 2000 and is an Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient. He has appeared as a soloist with more than 90 orchestras, including the London and Royal Philharmonic orchestras, Dallas and Houston symphonies, NHK Symphony in Japan and the St. Petersburg Philharmonic with Yuri Temirkanov.

Known for his stunning concerts and insightful interpretations, Bax delights his audience with thrilling performances.

“His playing quivers with an almost hypnotic intensity,” according to Gramophone magazine, which will award Bax its “Critic’s Choice” for his solo Brahms CD in its upcoming May issue.

In addition to his evening recital, Bax will conduct a master class from 10 a.m. to noon on May 10 in the PAC Concert Hall. The class is free and open to the public.

During the class up to four Western piano students will perform for Bax. After each performance, Bax will discuss the points for technical and musical improvement. If time allows, there will be an opportunity for the audience to ask questions.

Western’s Box Office hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and one hour prior to the performance. For individual tickets or disability accommodations, contact the Western Box Office at (360) 650-6146 or visit http://www.tickets.wwu.edu.

For more information, please visit http://www.wwu.edu/sanfordhill or call Western’s Department of Music at (360) 650-3130.