NATCHITOCHES – Cellist Paul Christopher and pianist Chialing Hsieh will feature the work of composer Charles Wuorinen in a recital on Monday, January 23 at 7:30 p.m. in Magale Recital Hall. Admission is free and open to the public. 

Wuorinen was a prolific composer and recipient of the MacArthur Foundation Fellowship and the Pulitzer Prize. He was the youngest composer to receive the Pulitzer Prize. Wuorinen served as professor of music at Rutgers University and as member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. 

Christopher is an associate professor of music theory and low strings at Northwestern State University. Christopher has appeared as soloist with orchestras in Colorado, Indiana, Louisiana, Missouri, Tennessee, Texas, and Panamá. He has also performed guest artist recitals in Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Mexico, Tennessee, Texas, Costa Rica, Honduras, Panama, and South Korea. He has presented and performed at conferences in Alabama, Louisiana, New Mexico, North Carolina and Ohio. Christopher’s articles have been published in the Jacques Offenbach Society Newsletter, Strings, American String Teacher and Bass World. He recorded the cello duos of Jacques Offenbach with seven CDs available at www.cdbaby.com 

An avid performer of contemporary music, Hsieh is devoted to promoting new piano solo and chamber works.  Hsieh has been a featured pianist on seven CDs for the Centaur, Innova, Enharmonic and Ballpark record labels. She joined the faculty of Northwestern State in 2016 as an assistant professor of collaborative piano. In the summer, she is the piano instructor at the Lutheran Summer Music Festival and Academy and the Sounds of Summer Institute. Hsieh earned her bachelor’s degree from the National Taipei University of the Arts, and M.M. and D.M.A. in piano performance at the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music.