World Renowned Pianist to perform at Stetson University

World-renowned pianist Robert Blocker, Music Dean at Yale University, will perform here Oct. 20.

World renowned pianist Robert Blocker, The Henry and Lucy Moses Dean of Music at Yale University, will perform at Stetson University, 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 20, in Lee Chapel inside Elizabeth Hall, 421 N. Woodland Blvd., DeLand.

A Steinway Artist, Blocker was invited to perform at Stetson by lifelong friend and fellow Steinway Artist Michael Rickman, who is celebrating his 30th anniversary at Stetson this year. Blocker’s guest appearance is part of Stetson’s Artists and Lecturers Series.

Blocker is highly regarded internationally for his artistry as a pianist, his leadership as an advocate for the arts and his extraordinary contributions to music education. Blocker concertizes throughout the world. Recent orchestral engagements range from appearances with the Beijing and Shanghai Symphony Orchestras to the Prague and Moscow Chamber Orchestras. He appears regularly on national radio and television as a consultant to major educational institutions and government agencies. In 2000, Steinway and Sons featured Blocker in a film commemorating the tercentennial year of the piano. In 2004, Yale University Press published The Robert Shaw Reader, a collection of Shaw’s writings edited by Blocker. The volume is now in its third printing.

Blocker will perform Johann Sebastian Bach’s Fantasia in C minor, as well as character pieces by Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms and a new work by well-known American composer Ezra Laderman, Dean Emeritus of Yale’s School of Music.

Admission to this special concert is $10—general admission; $8—senior citizens; and $5—area students. Concert series holders and Stetson faculty, students and staff with IDs are admitted free of charge. More information: Stetson University’s Concert Line (386) 822-8947; School of Music (386) 822-8950; www2.stetson.edu/music.