The NEXTET New Music Series presents Stockhausen's MANTRA, featuring faculty pianists Timothy Hoft and Katie Leung, at 3 p.m. April 10 in the Rando-Grillot Recital Hall of the Beam Music Center. The concert is free and open to the public, and includes a pre-concert lecture at 2:30 p.m.
Hoft teaches solo and collaborative piano. A pianist of unique versatility, he has been praised for his recent performances. “Hoft’s objective approach to performing new music was especially successful … [his] precise control of dynamics and quiet approach to the keyboard with a perfect technique led to a beautiful, automatic sense of music making.” (Michael Lodico, Ionarts.org).
His debut CD, Reflections on Ukrainian Piano Music Vol. I, has also been favorably reviewed. “Here is piano music that needs to be known, piano music that abounds with visceral vibrancy and expressive intensity, not to mention being skillfully and subtly wrought for the instrument. Timothy Hoft’s ardent and caring virtuosity is captured in superb, lifelike sonics. You can’t ask for a more auspicious start to what promises to be an important series.” (Jed Distler, Gramophone critic)
Leung is a dedicated collaborative artist and chamber musician. A two-time winner of the Lillian Fuchs Chamber Music Competition, she joined the UNLV faculty in 2015. She moved to Las Vegas from New York City, where she maintained an active performance schedule and held positions at numerous renowned music and dance institutions, including Lucy Moses School, Ballet Academy East, Rutgers University, and Manhattan School of Music.
About the UNLV College of Fine Arts
The UNLV College of Fine Arts, one of the nation's largest fine arts colleges, boldly launches visionaries who transform the global community through collaboration, scholarship, and innovation. Established in 1992, the UNLV CFA encompasses the departments of art, dance, film, theatre, the School of Music, School of Architecture, Entertainment Engineering & Design, and is home to the Performing Arts Center, Nevada Conservatory Theatre, and Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art. We illuminate the power of the arts amidst breathtaking advancements in science and technology. In doing so, we are creating a global destination at the forefront of transforming arts and design. To accomplish this, we encourage agency, inventiveness, problem-solving, and big-idea thinking in our students, faculty, and staff. We make education relevant through evolving curriculum and effective learning outcomes.
