Introduction

Pianist Mitch McKay in Concert April 4, 2014

Pianist Mitch McKay in Concert April 4, 2014

 

Santa Fe College Assistant Professor of Music and Piano Mitch McKay will perform in concert at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 4, in the Fine Arts Hall at the Northwest Campus, 3000 NW 83 Street, Gainesville. Tickets are:  $15 orchestra; $12 balcony; $9 for University of Florida students, seniors, and children 12 and under; and free to Santa Fe College students and employees. For ticket information, call the Box Office at 352-395-4181 or visit the Fine Arts ticket website at:

http://www.sfcollege.edu/finearts/

McKay will be playing the college’s Steinway Concert D Grand Piano. His varied program includes classical solo piano music by Beethoven, Rachmaninov, and Debussy. “There is also a beautiful trio by British composer Madeleine Dring that I will perform with Heather McKay and Amanda Carreon, both flutists, and some art songs that I will play with Jessica Van Leer and Lynn Sandefur, both singers,” McKay said.

Born and raised in Northern California, McKay studied piano for 12 years before attending Brigham Young University (BYU)-Idaho where he studied with Dr. Stephen Allen. He earned a master’s degree in music from Arizona State University, where he studied with Robert Hamilton.

Upon his return to Idaho where his wife, Heather, had a job teaching junior high school band, McKay performed with the Rexburg Tabernacle Orchestra and premiered a new work by Aaron Pike with the BYU-Idaho Symphony Orchestra. He also performed at Steinway Hall in New York City.

McKay earned a doctorate in piano performance under Panayis Lyras at Michigan State University. He was hired by Santa Fe College in 2012.

For more information about the concert, call McKay at 352-395-5144.

For more information about Santa Fe College’s Fine Arts Department programs, call the department’s chairperson, Alora Haynes, at 352-395-5296.

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