Symphony Orchestra

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Jungho Kim, conductorAlessandra Feris, piano

Program

AARON COPLANDHoe-Down from Rodeo (1942/1945)

GEORGE GERSHWINRhapsody in Blue (1924)

JOHANNES BRAHMSSymphony No. 1 in C minor, op. 68 (1855–76)

About the Program

This program explores three distinct musical perspectives on orchestral storytelling. Copland’s energetic Hoe-Down from Rodeo captures the spirit of the American West, while Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue blends jazz and classical traditions in one of America’s most celebrated concert works, featuring faculty pianist Alessandra Feris. The concert concludes with Brahms’s Symphony No. 1, a cornerstone of the symphonic repertoire that journeys from dramatic intensity to a triumphant and inspiring finale.

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About the Soloist

Praised for her artistry and passion, Brazilian pianist Alessandra Feris has established a distinguished career as a performer, pedagogue, and advocate for Latin-American piano music. She has performed widely across South America, Central America, Mexico, Europe, and the United States, with successful solo debuts in major venues including the Theatro São Pedro in Porto Alegre (Brazil), the Costa Rican National Theater, the Steinway Haus in Frankfurt (Germany), the Palácio de Bellas Artes (Sala Manuel M. Ponce) in Mexico City, and the Auditório León de Greiff in Bogotá, Colombia.

Alessandra Feris holds a bachelor’s degree from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil, an Artist Diploma from the University of Music Franz Liszt in Germany, a master’s degree from the University of Iowa, and a doctoral degree from Florida State University. Her major teachers include Dirce Knijnik, Thomas Steinhöfel, Réne Lecuona, Read Gainsford, and the legendary Lazar Berman.

Committed to excellence in teaching, Dr. Feris has received the John Simms Piano Award at the University of Iowa, the Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award at Florida State University, and the Mississippi Humanities Council Teacher of the Year Award. A sought-after pedagogue, she has been a guest adjudicator for various national and international competitions, including the Lancaster International Piano Competition, the Hyatt Piano Competition, the Pianissimo Piano Competition in Colombia, and the Piano Latinoamericano Competition in Costa Rica. Her students have frequently won piano competitions such as the South Dakota MTNA Young Artist, SDMTA Collegiate Piano, Truran Piano Competition, and the University of South Dakota Concerto Competition.

Her guest-artist engagements include masterclasses and performances at universities and conservatories worldwide, including the Colburn School, Bowling Green State University, Purdue University, University of Nevada-Reno, Radford University, Texas Woman’s University, Goshen College, Irvine Valley College, University of Arizona, Washington State University, University of Kansas, University of Central Florida, Louisiana State University, Montclair State University, North Dakota State University, Auburn University, University of Southern Mississippi, Kansas State University, Huntingdon College, University of North Dakota, Chadron State College, University of South Alabama, University of Montevallo, Southern University, Wayne State University, University of Costa Rica, University of Aveiro in Portugal, University of Buenos Aires in Argentina, Ionian University in Greece, Royal Birmingham Conservatory in England, National University of Music in Peru and several universities in Colombia and Brazil.

Alessandra Feris is devoted to the diffusion of Latin-American piano music and has been a guest performer at the Trester Festival for Latin-American Music at the University of Arizona, the Latin-American Piano Festival at Texas A&M University in Commerce, the Ibero-American Festival Cinco Sentidos in Jena, Germany, and the Brasilien trifft Berlin Festival. She is a passionate contemporary pianist and is often invited to premiere works by living composers. Recent premieres include Love Letters by Steven Sacco, Wissenschaftsgläubigkeit by Paul Lombardi, and Mni Wiconi by Jeffrey Paul.

Dr. Feris has recently joined the University of North Carolina at Greensboro as Assistant Professor of Piano. She has previously served as Associate Professor of Piano at the University of South Dakota and Piano Faculty/Artist-in-Residence at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. She is an artist-teacher at the InterHarmony International Music Festival in Italy and the Lancaster International Piano Festival in Pennsylvania.

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