Pianist Jerico Vasquez will present a faculty recital on Monday, October 26, at 7:30 p.m. in Brookes Chapel at Shorter University. The event is free and open to the public.
Titled Between Longing and Passion, the recital will feature works by Ottorino Respighi, Frédéric Chopin, Claude Debussy, Carmencita Arambulo, and Ludwig van Beethoven.
Vasquez describes the program as an exploration of the emotional tension between longing and passion. “Each of the pieces in this program is characterized by moments of longing, expressed through falling melodic motives, unresolved or unexpected harmonies, and other gestures that leave the listener emotionally ‘hanging,’” Vasquez said. “At the same time, each work builds toward a single passionate and climactic moment—typically its loudest, most intense and exhilarating passage. This can be heard prominently in the final moments of Chopin’s Polonaise-Fantaisie, Op. 61 and in the defiant final movement of Beethoven’s Sonata in F Minor, Op. 57, subtitled the ‘Appassionata.’”
Vasquez has previously presented this program in a private recital in Atlanta, Gardner-Webb University in North Carolina, Jacksonville State University in Alabama, and Dalton State University.
Praised for his “formidable and effortless playing” and “intelligent ardor and exceptionally clear and bright technique,” Vasquez serves as Dean of the School of Fine and Performing Arts and Professor of Piano at Shorter University. He also serves as Instructor of Piano for the Georgia Governor’s Honors Program. A recipient of the 2021 and 2022 Top Teacher Award from Steinway & Sons, Vasquez is also a Shigeru Kawai Artist. He has performed as a concerto soloist, recitalist, and collaborative artist throughout the United States and in Canada, Europe, and the Philippines. In 2025, Vasquez was honored with Shorter University’s President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching and Scholarship, recognizing his outstanding pedagogy, artistic accomplishments, and service to the university.