Xak Bjerken, professor of piano at Cornell University, will perform a free, public concert in the Bucknell Piano Series on Thursday, March 28 at 7:30 p.m. in the Natalie Davis Rooke Recital Hall, Sigfried Weis Music Building.
Bjerken has appeared with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Spoleto Festival Orchestra, Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra, the Schoenberg Ensemble, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic in Disney Hall. He has performed at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Glinka Hall in St. Petersburg, the Konzerthaus in Berlin, and for many years performed throughout the U.S. as a member of the Los Angeles Piano Quartet. He has performed with the Cuarteto Casals, the Prazak, New Zealand, and Miami string quartets, and held chamber music residencies at the Tanglewood Music Center, Spoleto Festival and Olympic Music Festival. He is the director of Ensemble X, a new music ensemble, and has served on the faculty of Kneisel Hall, the Eastern Music Festival, and at the Chamber Music Conference at Bennington College.
He released his first solo recording on CRI in 2001, and has since recorded for Koch International, Chandos, Albany Records, Artona, and is about to release his third recording for Open G Records, presenting solo and chamber works by Steven Stucky.
Each year, the Bucknell Piano Series features leading pianists from around the U.S. and abroad. Both rising younger artists and distinguished veterans present concert programs highlighting different musical idioms and specialties, ranging from classical piano repertory and contemporary music performed on the modern piano to performances on period instruments. During their residency on campus, these guest artists give masterclasses and lead workshops, providing our students with an important outside perspective that amplifies their musical training at Bucknell. Recent notable guests include Brazilian pianist Caio Pagano, American pianist Seth Knopp, Canadian pianist Jane Coop, and Finnish pianist Pavaali Jumppanen.