Gechter in Solo Piano Concert at Texas A&M International University

Child-like wonder, lyric beauty, soulful sweetness and Romantic temperaments will be part of a musical Sunday afternoon at Texas A&M International University's Great Room in the Sue and Radcliffe Killam Library.

A&M International University assistant professor of music Fritz Gechter will present the works of Chopin, Mendelssohn and Mozart in a Solo Piano Recital at 5 p.m.

The concert is free of charge and open to the public. It is the first presentation in the University's new Fine and Performing Arts Series.

Scheduled for presentation at the concert are Mozart's Piano Sonata in A, K 331, Mendelssohn's Venetian Boat Song in F-Sharp minor and Rondo Cappricioso in E and Chopin's Mazurka in B minor and Fantasie in F minor.

The Mozart Piano Sonata traces a sense of child-like wonder through six Variations; the Venetian Boat Song evokes the lyric beauty of Italy's city of canals while the Rondo Cappricioso captures the Romantic temperament.

Chopin's Mazurka transforms a folk dance into a seamless display of technical wizardry while the Fantasie mixes soulful sweetness with hard-edged abandon.

Originally from the Pacific Northwest, Gechter has appeared as both soloist and collaborative artist on numerous occasions in the states of Washington, Colorado, and Texas. In 1996 he made his European debut accompanying his wife, Suzanne Ramo (soprano), in Kloster Andechs, Germany.

He received a BM in Piano Performance from Central Washington University in 1991, and a MM in Piano Performance from the University of Texas at Austin in 1993. He is currently working on his doctoral dissertation at UT.

The recipient of several awards, Gechter has appeared as featured pianist with the Spokane Symphony Orchestra and the University of Texas Symphony Orchestra. An active soloist and collaborative artist in the Laredo area, he helped inaugurate Laredo's first Mozart Festival during the summer of 1998 with Mozart's famous Piano Sonata in A, K.331.

Gechter is helping to build the new music program at A&M International. He teaches piano, music appreciation, music history, music theory, and directs the University's first choir.

For additional information, please contact the Office of Public Affairs and Information Services at 326.2180 or visit office located in the Sue and Radcliffe Killam Library, room 268.

University office hours are from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday.

Journalists who need additional information or help with media requests and interviews should contact the Office of Public Affairs and Information Services at pais@tamiu.edu