World-class pianist Sean Chen, will perform on Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. in Angelle Hall as part of University of Louisiana at Lafayette School of Music and Performing Arts’ Richard Goula Distinguished Piano Series.
The four-part concert series launched this fall in partnership with the Acadiana Symphony Orchestra with a performance by Christopher Goodpasture.
Chen earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music from The Juilliard School and has performed with orchestras throughout the United States. He has also given solo recitals from Boston to Paris and won the 2013 American Pianists Awards.
“Sean Chen is one of the most celebrated pianists in the world,” said Dr. Chan Kiat Lim, professor in the School of Music and Performing Arts in the College of the Arts. “Normally, you would have to go to places like New York or Washington, D.C. to hear Sean play, but he’ll be right in our backyard.”
The next two performances in the series feature Antonio di Cristofano on Feb. 10 and Tanya Bannister accompanied by Andrea Loewy on April 24. Admission is $20 and $10 for UL Lafayette faculty and staff. Students from any university can get in for free with a valid school ID.
“Lafayette is such a vibrant city,” Lim said. “It’s a place where people really appreciate art. With this series, we have something concrete and consistent that adds to the list of things Lafayette has to offer. We want to make the University an academic and cultural center.”
The piano series is named after the man who made its inception possible: Richard Goula.
Goula was a geologist with a passion for piano, who sponsored many young musicians. Before his death in 2017, he established the Thistlewood Foundation, a philanthropic organization dedicated to financially supporting artists.