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Classical Pianist Shuann Chai returns to Laurel Lake

On Monday, May 24 at 7 p.m. in the Laurel Lake Community Room, 200 Laurel Lake Drive in Hudson, classical pianist Shuann Chai will offer a free concert.  The performance is part of "The Arts at Laurel Lake," a free series to support the arts in Northeast Ohio.

Chinese-American pianist Shuann Chai is an active and engaging performer, critically acclaimed for her interpretations on both modern and historical instruments. Recent projects include recitals at St. Cecilia's Hall of Edinburgh (Scotland, UK), the Mendelssohn Festival Weekend in the Vredenburg (Utrecht, Holland), and the Young Masters Performance Series in The Hague (Holland) as well as a performance of Beethoven’s First Concerto at the Bloomington Early Music Festival (USA) with conductor Stanley Ritchie. Previously, an all-Beethoven program for the Festival also garnered special praise in a concert review: "She exhibited superb command of the instrument...suffusing [her performance] with a hefty wattage of emotional intensity." Ms. Chai’s concert tours have taken her from Beijing, China (as a guest artist at Qinghua University) to Kiev, Ukraine, where she performed concerti by Schumann and Tchaikovsky. She has also been featured in live radio broadcasts on WGBH Boston (with cellist Pieter Wispelwey), Harmonia Early Music Radio, and Radio-Canada, and was chosen to perform at the International Music Seminar of Prussia Cove, England.

Ms. Chai completed undergraduate degrees in Piano and Biology at Oberlin College. After choosing music over medical school, she continued her studies at the New England Conservatory in Boston where she earned a Master's degree. Her teachers have included Jack Radunsky, Norma Fisher, and David Breitman, and she has worked extensively with Claus-Christian Schuster of the Altenberg Trio and Malcolm Bilson, professor emeritus at Cornell University. Most recently she completed a graduate course in Fortepiano at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, Netherlands, under the tutelage of Bart van Oort and Stanley Hoogland. Ms. Chai is also the grateful recipient of support from organizations such as the Stichting Musicians Worldwide and the National Muziekinstrumenten Fonds (NMF).

This year's concerts include programs for the Aberyswyth Music Club (UK) and the Stichting Jonge Concertpianisten (Holland) as well as a 5-concert tour in Norway as a guest artist with the MiN-Ensemble. Shuann has also been invited for a pair of concerts celebrating the Chopin bicentennial at the Cobbe Collection in Surrey (UK), where she will be performing on Chopin’s own Pleyel grand piano. In the current season Ms. Chai is also playing a series of solo and chamber music programs commemorating the bicentennial anniversaries of Felix Mendelssohn and Robert Schumann in a number of venues in the Netherlands such as the Noorderkerk (Amsterdam), the Cruquius Museum (Heemstede), and the Dr. Anton Philipszaal (Den Haag)..

For information about future events, or to inquire about scheduling a performance date at Laurel Lake, contact Susan Busko at 330-655-1411 or e-mail: Susan_Busko@hmis.org .

Laurel Lake is the smart option for adults 62+ who wish to continue leading full, active lives filled with a variety of interests and aspirations, including travel, work, fitness, cultural and lifelong learning pursuits. To learn more about this active retirement community offering multiple home styles with 150 acres of natural beauty, call 1-866-650-2100 or visit www.laurellake.org .