March 20, 2008

Mathematics in Music: Pianist-Engineer to Perform at NC State

Mathematics in music: Pianist-engineer to perform at NC State

Event: Elaine Chew: The Mathematics in Music

When: Monday, March 24, 7 p.m. Free and open to the public.

Where: Ballroom of Talley Student Center.

Innovative pianist-engineer Elaine Chew will perform at North Carolina State University on Monday, demonstrating mathematical principles in music through the performance of contemporary pieces. Dr. Chew is on the faculties of the departments of industrial and systems engineering and electrical engineering at the University of Southern California; her research centers on the computational modeling of music and its performance. The Arts NOW series at NC State is presenting the event.

Dr. Chew has produced and performed classical concerts throughout the world. As a pioneer building a career at the intersection of music and engineering, she has been awarded the prestigious NSF Early Career Development Award and the Presidential Early Career Award in Science and Engineering, the highest honor bestowed upon young scientists and engineers in the United States.

As a pianist, Dr. Chew has performed widely as soloist and chamber musician in the North America (the United States, and Canada), Asia (Singapore, China), and Europe (Finland, Scotland and Slovenia). She has appeared in concert at venues and festivals such as Los Angeles' Newman Recital Hall at USC, Zipper Hall as part of the Music of Changes concert series, Boston's Jordan Hall as part of the Foundation for Chinese Performing Arts Recital Series, the Rockport Chamber Music Festival as a featured young artist, the Singapore Embassy in Washington D.C. as part of the Embassy Series, and Victoria Concert Hall as soloist with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra in the President's Charity Concert.

Chew has premiered compositions by, and worked with, contemporary composers Chen Yi, Peter Child, Chris Dench, Tamar Diesendruck, Jose Elizondo, John Harbison, Cecilia Heejeong Kim, Alba Potes, Eric Sawyer, Paul Schoenfield, and Ivan Tcherepnin. She has recorded Peter Child's Doubles III, written for her and based on songs from her childhood, and his Trio for violin, clarinet and piano (Neuma Records). Her performance of Poulenc's Sextuor recorded live with the East Winds Quintet, the Lehigh University faculty wind ensemble, airs frequently on WDIY, the public radio station in the Lehigh Valley; her performance of Ivan Tcherepnin's Fêtes - Variations on Happy Birthday can be heard on WGBH's Art of the States program.

For more information, please see www-rcf.usc.edu/~echew/ahi/ or call 515-5464.

PROGRAM

Discussion on metrical permutations

East Coast premiere of Sudoku Variations * (2006) by Tamar Diesendruck

Discussion on tonal combinations

Performance of Doubles III * and Epilogue (1998-1999) by Peter Child

· three chinese songs: precious jewel, spring song, floating

· three malay songs: cockatoo, riversong, sampan variations

· epilogue (in memoriam to William Albright)

Discussion on genetic algorithms by Rodney Waschka II

World premiere of A Simple Gift for Elaine* (2008) by Rodney Waschka II

Discussion on melodic transformations

Performance of Fêtes - Happy Birthday Variations (1975) by Ivan Tcherepnin

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