Pianist Jerico Vasquez will present a faculty recital in Shorter University’s Brookes Chapel on Monday, February 28, at 7 p.m. The performance is open to the public free of charge.

The concert, titled “The Romantics,” will include works by Robert Schumann, Frédéric Chopin, Jean Sibelius, Ottorino Respighi, and Enrique Granados.

“The program will feature works by composers from Germany, France, Finland, Italy, and Spain from throughout the Romantic period,” Vasquez said. “Furthermore, the program explores the two main genres cultivated during this period: the Sonata—a large multi-movement work featuring contrasting sections, and the Lyric or Character Piece—a short piano work often with a fanciful title.”

He added, “For this recital, I will be using the Shigeru Kawai concert grand which just received some much-needed maintenance work and a set of new hammers. It is an exceptional instrument for Romantic music due to its subtlety, color, and power. Its resonant bass, sparkling upper register, and warm and clear middle range make this instrument the perfect companion for any performance.”

Hailed for his “formidable and effortless playing” and “intelligent ardor and exceptionally clear and bright technique,” pianist Jerico Vasquez is Artist-in-Residence / Professor of Music and Coordinator of the Keyboard Program at Shorter University. Recognized as an official Shigeru Kawai Artist, he has performed as a concerto soloist, recitalist, and collaborative musician in Canada, Europe, the Philippines, and the United States, including recitals in California, Idaho, Illinois, Minnesota, Michigan, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Oklahoma, and all over Georgia.

Recent performances include a solo recital at the famed Ayala Museum sponsored by the Manila Chamber Orchestra Foundation and Lyric Piano, masterclasses for the Piano Teachers Guild of the Philippines, solo recitals for the Piano Technicians Guild Convention, the Kirk Concert and Masterclass Series, the Bunny Just Music Festival, a concerto performance with the Rome Symphony Orchestra, and chamber music performances with the Balkan String Quartet and the Expedition Winds. An avid vocal collaborator, he has worked with singers Indra Thomas, Ann Cravero, Cynthia Wohlschlager, Deborah Popham, Eric McCluskey, Rianne Marcum, Chuck Chandler, and most recently with Yuman Lee performing Schubert’s Winterreise on a tour of Georgia, Oklahoma, and Texas. A CD of this collaboration was released in October 2020.

Dr. Vasquez received his Bachelor of Music degree under Dr. Charles Asche at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and his Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in Piano Performance, with a Minor in Music History and Literature, from the Moores School of Music at the University of Houston under Ruth Tomfohrde, and eminent pianists Abbey Simon and Horacio Gutiérrez.

As a pedagogue, Dr. Vasquez has been an active member of the Music Teachers National Association, the Georgia Music Teachers Association, and the Rome Music Teachers Association. He has served as President of the Houston Music Teachers Association, where he was recognized with a Teacher Service Award; President of the Bayou City Federated Music Club, Vice-President for Membership for the Georgia MTA, and Vice-President of the Rome Music Teachers Association, in addition to chairing many local competitions and festivals.

His students have won prizes in many competitions, including the HMTA/HYAC Concerto Competition, the Blinn College Young Pianist Competition, the GMTA Competitions, the Rome Symphony Concerto Competition, the Chopin International Youth Competition, and scholarships competitions sponsored by the Atlanta Steinway Society, the Atlanta Music Club, the Rome Music Lovers Club, and the Dublin-Laurens Arts Council, the William and Mary Ann Knight Scholarship Competition, and the Georgia Federation and National Federation of Music Clubs. Many of his students have also gone on to prestigious graduate music programs including the Eastman School of Music, the University of Houston’s Moores School of Music, Rutgers University, and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.

Rapidly approaching its 150^th anniversary, Shorter University is a Christ-centered university committed to excellence in education. U.S. News & World Report and The Princeton Review annually include Shorter on their lists of best Southeastern Colleges. The university offers traditional bachelor’s degrees in 40 areas of study, online courses and degree programs, associate’s and master’s programs.