Professor and pianist Joan Conway of
the Hope College music faculty is about to conclude some 32
years with the college's Faculty Recital Series.
Professor and pianist Joan Conway of
the Hope College music faculty is about to conclude some 32
years with the college's Faculty Recital Series.
Conway, who is retiring at the end of the school
year, will be featured on the long-running program for the
last time on Sunday, Feb. 18. The recital will be presented
at 4 p.m. in Wichers Auditorium of Nykerk Hall of Music.
The public is invited. Admission is free.
The afternoon concert will feature four pieces
showcasing a variety of musical genres. Conway will perform
in three of them.
The program will present a work written for
multiple cellos, the "Requiem for Three Cellos and Piano,
Op. 66," by David Popper. The requiem, which has generated
inquiries from audience members interested in hearing it,
was originally scheduled to be performed as part of the next
recital in the series.
The cellists will be Richard Piippo of the
faculty; Ernest Lloyd, a retired professional cellist who
performs with the Holland Symphony; and Robert Ritsema, who
retired from the Hope music faculty in 1999. Conway will be
the pianist.
The concert will also feature a performance by the
well-received "Anchor Trio," which consists of Conway,
cellist Piippo and violinist Mihai Craioveanu. The trio
will present Robert Schumann's "Trio No. 1 in D Minor, Op.
63."
Soprano Linda Dykstra, accompanied by Conway, will
sing "Four Night Songs" by Madeline Dring.
Julie Sooy, flute, and Jennifer Wolfe, piano, will
perform Sergei Prokofieff's "Sonata in D Major, Op. 94."
Conway has been a member of the Hope faculty since
1969. She has coordinated the Faculty Recital Series for
more than two decades in addition to performing in it since
coming to Hope.
She is well-known throughout the Midwest as a
soloist, chamber player and accompanist. She is past
president of the Michigan Music Teachers' Association
(MMTA). The MMTA named her State Teacher of the Year in
1992. In 1994, the MMTA presented her with its first
Distinguished Service Award.
Conway received an Alumni Citation from her
undergraduate college, Lebanon Valley College, in 1996. She
holds a master's in music from Manhattan School of Music.
She spent 13 years performing and teaching in New
York City before coming to Hope. Among other venues, she
has played in Carnegie Recital Hall, Town Hall and Lincoln
Center Library.
Nykerk Hall of Music is located along the former
12th Street between College and Columbia avenues.
Additional information about the program may be obtained by
calling the college's department of music at (616) 395-7650.