In light of President Reif’s announcement on March 10th regarding COVID-19, this event has been CANCELED.
On behalf of Music and Theater Arts and the MIT Community, I apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your support in Music and Theater at MIT. If you have questions or would like further information, please contact performance@mit.edu
Cellist Valerie Chen cannot not-have-fun when she’s with her best friend (her cello). Whether she actively sought out ways to meld humor, cello and her undergraduate studies in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science together or it just hap-pun-ed that way, she finds herself the founding President of MIT’s first cello club, Cello World, which encompasses MIT’s first cello ensemble, Cello++. Moreover, Valerie happily indulges her cello’s relentless pursuit of musical opportunities; in addition to cello ensemble rehearsals, the sophomore allows her cello to string her along on Tuesday and Thursday nights to MIT Symphony Orchestra rehearsals, which the pair serves as Principal Cellist.
In the past, Valerie and cello have adventured onstage together on the east and west coasts as winners of concerto competitions and chamber music competitions.
The duo enjoys meeting other instrument-musician pairs: they have befriended instruments and musicians alike in the yearly All-National Honor Orchestras and California All-State High School Honor Symphonies and found themselves at times serving as Principal Cellist of these groups. Furthermore, their four years with the La Jolla Symphony as the youngest and only high school member were an eye-opening experience neither cellist nor cello (nor broken bow hairs) will forget.
Both Valerie and her cello are immensely grateful to their past teachers Dr. Joyce Geeting, Maureen Hynes and Clive Greensmith. Currently, the pair is honored to be fine-tuning their cello-cellist synergy under the tutelage of Kee Kim.
Program
Cello Suite No. 6 in D major, BWV 1012 (1717-1723) Johann Sebastian Bach
(1685 – 1750)
- Prélude
- Allemande
- Courante
- Sarabande
- Gavotte I, Gavotte II
- Gigue
Fantasiestücke (Fantasy Pieces), Op. 73 (1849) Robert Schumann
(1810 – 1856)
- Zart und mit Ausdruck
- Lebhaft, leicht
- Rasch und mit Feuer
Cello Sonata (1915) Claude Debussy
(1862 – 1918)
- Prologue: Lent, sostenuto e molto risoluto
- Sérénade: Modérément animé
- Final: Animé, léger et nerveux
Funded by the late Mr. Cherry L. Emerson, Jr. (SM, 1941) the Emerson Program offers merit-based financial assistance for private lessons to MIT students of outstanding achievement on their instrument or voice in classical, jazz or world music via competitive auditions. Each academic year, the Emerson program for private study offers half scholarships and full scholarships to approximately 50 qualified students out of about 100 who apply and audition for scholarships and fellowships. Auditions are held at the start of the fall semester. Private teacher selections, made in consultation with the music faculty, may include instructors from MIT or from the greater Boston musical community.
