Date & Time: Saturday June 10, 2023 at 4 p.m.
Venue: Incarnation Episcopal Church, 1750 29th Avenue, San Francisco
Tickets: $25 General, $20 Seniors/Students
Eventbrite Ticketing: Buy online
Program
- Mendelssohn: Andante et Allegro brillant Op. 92
- Ravel: Ma mère l’Oye (Mother Goose)
- Beethoven: Sonata in D Major for Four Hands Op. 6
- Barber: Souvenirs Op. 28
HEALTH AND SAFETY: Masks are optional but highly recommended
In accordance with the recommended health and safety recommended guidelines from the City and County of San Francisco, the Episcopal Diocese of California, masking is now optional but highly recommended. We strive to make the concerts a safe place for everyone.
About the Artists
The notorious “Happy Dog” piano duo consists of longtime friends and piano partners, Nathan Cheung and Eric Tran. They won the 1st prize and Abild American Music Award at the Ellis Duo-Piano Competition, hosted by the National Federation of Music Clubs; 1st prize at the inaugural MTNA-Stecher and Horowitz Two Piano Competition; and 1st prize at the Ohio International Duet and Duo Piano Competition. For over a decade, they have performed four-hands originals, transcriptions, and classics alike with a focus on bringing humor and joy to the classical music world.
Named a Gilmore Festival Fellow, pianist-composer Eric Tran has performed in Italy, Korea, China, Canada, and in over 20 states in the United States. He has appeared in music festivals such as PianoTexas, Aspen, Art of the Piano, Gilmore, and Chautauqua. His principal studies were with pianists Sharon Mann, Thomas Schultz, and Christopher Taylor; and with composers Jaroslaw Kapuscinski and Laura Schwendinger.
Eric is a graduate of Stanford University, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and the Mead Witter School of Music. During his studies, he was the winner of the concerto competitions of all three institutions, and he was awarded the prestigious Robert M. Golden Medal for outstanding contributions to the arts. He has won awards from the Wideman Piano Competition and the American Prize, and has been invited to compete at the US Chopin National and Virginia Waring International Competitions. As a composer, he won the Pacific Musical Society Composition Prize, and his sets of children’s music have been programmed for eight years on the syllabus of the US Open Music Competition. His music has been performed by the St. Lawrence String Quartet and the Friction Quartet, and his debut album, Water, was supported by Stanford University’s Young Alumni Arts Grant.
Hailing from the San Francisco Bay Area, Dr. Nathan Cheung is known for his versatility as a soloist, collaborator, composer, and improviser. These roles are fueled by a life-long passion to discover artistry and accessibility—to understand the power of great music and tap into its potential to resonate with people from all walks of life. His education has aided him significantly in strengthening these endeavors, culminating in degrees from Stanford University (BA Music with honors, concentrations in Piano Performance and Composition) and the Eastman School of Music (DMA, MM, Piano Performance and Literature; MM, Accompanying and Chamber Music). His primary instructors during his studies were Natalya Antonova, Nelita True, Jean Barr, and Thomas Schultz, to each of whom he owes immensely in shaping his core pianism and values.
Dr. Cheung has claimed the 1st prize in the 2019 Los Angeles International Piano Competition and has won top prizes in other international competitions including the Seattle International Piano Competition, Wideman International Piano Competition, Lewisville Lake Symphony International Competition, and Thousand Islands International Piano Competition. He is also a winner of the Aspen Concerto Competition, the American Prize concerto division, the Music Teacher’s Association of California Solo Competition, and the concerto competitions at both the Eastman School and Stanford University. His performances have taken him to established venues such as Bing Concert Hall, the Mondavi Center, and the Schoenberg Center in Vienna. In the realm of the solo recital, Nathan enjoys producing themed concerts as a means to draw musical comparisons. Prior concerts have featured the theme of Water and Fire, the similarity of Schubert’s attacca Wanderer Fantasy and Szymanowski’s attacca Third Piano Sonata, and the underperformed works by George Walker and Joseph Achron.