UTAH VALLEY UNIVERSITY
TWILIGHT IN PARIS
FRENCH CHAMBER MUSIC FOR STRINGS AND PIANO
DR. CHEUNG CHAU, CELLO WITH GUESTS
DR. ESTHER JEEHAE AHN, PIANO
DR. BLANKA BEDNARZ, VIOLIN
March 17, 2026
7:00 p.m.
Nu Skin Recital Hall
PROGRAM
Please hold applause until the end of each work and turn off all electronic devices that could disrupt the recital.
Sonata for Cello and Piano, L 135 Claude Debussy (1862–1918)
I. Prologue: Lent, sostenuto e molto risoluto
II. Sérénade: Modérérement animé
III. Finale: Animé léger et nerveux
Sonata for Violin and Piano Francis Poulenc (1899–1963)
I. Allegro con fuoco
II. Intermezzo
III. Presto tragico
A brief pause
Piano Trio in A minor, M. 67 Maurice Ravel (1875–1937)
I. Modéré
II. Pantoum Assez vif
III. Passacaille:Très large
IV. Final: Animé
BIOS
American Prize Gold Medalist Cheung Chau is Professor of Music and Director of Orchestras at Utah Valley University. He is the Music Director of the Utah Valley Symphony, Utah Valley Youth Symphony in Orem, Utah, Music Director of Sinfonietta Polonia in Poznań, Poland, Principal Guest Conductor of the Changsha Symphony in Hunan, China, as well as conductor and faculty of the International Musicians’ Academy with the Sinfonietta Vidin in Vidin, Bulgaria.
Cheung inspires audiences through his powerful performances, diverse programming, collaborations with community artistic institutions and beloved and exciting artists. Conducting over 760 concerts in 16 countries worldwide, Chau is a nationally and internationally recognized musician and conductor. In addition to winning the first prize of the internationally acclaimed American Prize as a professional orchestra conductor in 2024, Chau is a USA National Arts Associate with Sigma Alpha Iota, amongst distinguished musicians including Semyon Bychkov, Sir Neville Marriner, Andre Watts, and Pinchas Zukerman. Chau won the ASTA’s Teacher of the Year Award in 2018. His 2017 world premiere recording of Snow Queen with Sinfonietta Polonia on the leading Polish label, Acte Préalable, received a Global Music Awards Silver Medal.
As Music Director of Sinfonietta Polonia, Chau initiated a New Year Concert series which reached over two hundred thousand live audience members since its inception in 2007. In addition to winning a silver medal from the Global Music Awards, Sinfonietta Polonia toured throughout Europe and China, including winning the World’s Best Gala-Event in 2017, performing at the Federico Fellini Gala at the Cinecittà studios in Rome, Italy.
As Director of orchestras at UVU, Chau collaborated with artists and ensembles, including Jason Alexander, Kathryn Eberle, Colin Carr, Hans Euler, Lucius Hemmer, eleven UVU music department faculty as soloists, the UVU Opera, UVU Choirs, the UVU Center for Constitutional Studies, the UVU Office for Global Engagement, the UVU College of Science, the UVU Departments of Art & Design, Dance, and Theatre, the Wasatch Chorale, the Mapleton Chorale, and the Southern Utah University Opus Chamber Choir, among others. The UVU premiere of Mahler’s Second Symphony, “Resurrection”, at the UVU Noorda Center in April of 2024 became one of the best-selling academic concerts at UVU of that season. In the 2024–2025 season, the UVU Symphony and Chamber Orchestra presented Massenet’s Werther with the UVU Opera, Cabaretan evening of Gershwin’s music with the UVU Department of Theatre, and performances of Tango music with the UVU Contemporary Dance Ensemble.
The UVU Symphony also featured violinist Aubree Oliverson in Sibelius’s Violin Concerto, in a tribute to Sibelius at his 160th birth anniversary. And in 2025–26 season, one of the highlights will be a performance dedicated to Ukraine, featuring soloist Peter Sirotin, violin.
As a conductor of professional orchestras, Chau served as assistant conductor to Edo de Waart at the Hong Kong Philharmonic performing for events including the 2007 10th anniversary of the Hong Kong Handover, amongst amongst audience members, which included Chinese President Hu Jintao.. He served as the Resident Conductor of the Changsha Symphony in Hunan, China, of which he is currently the principal guest conductor, with nationally televised concerts reaching millions of audience members. Since 2004, Chau served as music director of Sinfonietta Polonia, performing over 300 concerts and reaching over 300,000 live audience members. He served as the principal guest conductor of the Lublin Philharmonic in Poland and is currently conductor of the Sinfonietta Vidin at the International Musicians Academy in Vidin, Bulgaria.
As conductor of youth ensembles, in addition to serving as the music director of the Utah Valley Youth Symphony since 2013 and being awarded Best Youth Organization of Provo in 2022, Chau was three times guest conductor of the International Association of Southeast Asian Schools in Jakarta, Bangkok, and Kuala Lumpur. He was the conductor of the Utah All-State Orchestra and Education Ambassador for the Hong Kong Philharmonic, conducting the orchestra in over 70 educational concerts and visiting with hundreds of middle and high school students each year. Chau also conducted youth ensembles in Utah, including the Sandy Youth Symphony, The Weber School District Honors Orchestra, and the Bridgerland Honors Orchestra in Logan.
Chau was music director of community orchestras, including the Central Pennsylvania Symphony, the Bloomington Symphony, and the Manchester Symphony, performing music ranging from Broadway, film, and popular music, including the music of The Beatles, to ballet, to classical standards including music of Copland, Sibelius, Bruckner, Bernstein, Holst, Brahms, amongst many others. In Pennsylvania, he initiated a performance of “Dancing with the PA Stars”, a project in collaboration with the Pennsylvania legislature, which raised thousands of dollars for the Pennsylvania Alzheimers’ Association.
As conductor of collegiate orchestras, Chau was director of orchestras at Haverford College and the University of Connecticut. He recently received a full professorship from UVU and took the UVU Symphony to the semi-finals at the American Prize with works of Shostakovich and Szymanowski.
As guest conductor, Chau conducted the Moscow Symphony in Russia, the Nordhausen Philharmonic and the Nuremburg Symphony in Germany, the Filharmonica Marchigiana in Italy, the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic in Sweden, the Vassa Symphony in Finland, the Williamsport Symphony, the Charlottesville Symphony and the Ballet West Orchestra in the United States, the Białystok Philharmonic, the Kielce Philharmonic, the Lublin Philharmonic, the Sudecka Philharmonic, and the Olsztyn Philharmonic Orchestras in Poland. In China, he conducted the China National Symphony, the Tianjin Philharmonic, the Wuhan Philharmonic, and the Xiamen Philharmonic, and became the permanent guest conductor of the Inner Mongolia Orchestra in 2007.
As ballet conductor, Chau conducted productions of Giselle and Nutcracker with the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet and the Ballet West at the Harrisburg Whitaker Center and the Capitol Theatre in Salt Lake City. He was a guest conductor at the Grand Opera and Ballet Theater in Poznań, Poland, where he conducted the world premiere of Alice in Wonderland in 2014. Chau led the world premiere performance of Snow Queen in March of 2016 at the Grand Theater in Poznań. Since then, Chau led Alice in Wonderland and Snow Queen regularly in Poznań and at the prestigious Opera Nova in Bydgoszcz, Poland.
As opera conductor, Chau collaborated with the UVU Opera, the Royal Stockholm Academy Opera, and the Georgia Southern Opera, conducting Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, Massenet’s Werther, Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutte, Don Giovanni, and others.
Artists Chau collaborated as conductor include Stephanie Chase, Monte Belknap, Kathryn Eberle, Barnabás Kelemen, Stefan Tarara, Colin Carr, Jeffrey Solow, Matt Holland, Rebecca Corruccini, Jason Alexander, Leticia Oaks Strong, Ning An, Ulrich Knörzer, Bob Evans, Maria Masycheva, Nathan Hughes, Barbara Kubiak, and Anna Maria Staśkiewicz, amongst many other nationally and internationally renowned soloists and personalities in the USA, Germany, Poland, and China. Chau also collaborates regularly in concert with non-traditional concert artists including, Bulgarian folk dancer masters, Romani folk artists, dancers (ballet, modern, ballroom) narrators, and visual artists, amongst others.
As cellist, Chau performed as soloist with the Hong Kong Philharmonic, the Macao Symphony, the Changsha Symphony, the Gettysburg Chamber Orchestra, the Timpanogos Symphony, the UVU Symphony, Sinfonietta Polonia, and Sinfonietta Vidin, and performed the UVU premiere of Gulda’s Cello Concerto in collaboration with the UVU Wind Symphony in March of 2025.
Chau received the first double doctorate from the New England Conservatory in wind ensemble conducting and cello performance, studying conducting with Frank Battisti and cello with Colin Carr. He was a conducting fellow at the Aspen Conducting Academy studying with David Zinman and Alan Gilbert. He studied orchestral conducting with Jorma Panula at the Royal Conservatory of Sweden and was mentored by Edo de Waart and Charles Dutoit.
“Cheung Chau led an impressive symphony concert in Sondershausen . . . and showed a powerful rendition of his skill . . . A musical firework unfolded before the audience, between the sinking softness and the euphoric feeling of youth. This interpretation made the greatness of the work (Schubert “Great” Symphony) understood instantly.”
—Ronald Urlig, Thueringer Allgemeine, Erfurt, Germany
“The tableaux (in Lithuanian Rhapsody by Karlowicz) are doubtlessly difficult to interpret, as they are emotionally dense, complex. However, the orchestra under Chau’s baton painted them in dark hues so very desirable in the first tableau, brightening the color spectrum accordingly in the subsequent episodes — in the subtle Andante tranquillo, dance-like Allegretto giocoso, all until the return of the initial nostalgia. One found great satisfaction and pleasure in listening to the “Lithuanian Rhapsody,” precisely thanks to Chau’s consistent construction and progression of moods, apt graduation of emotions, and logical narration.”
—Dorota Gonet, Gazeta.Wyborcza, Lublin, Poland
Lauded by the Boston Musical Intelligencer for her interpretive coherence and graceful realization, pianist Esther Jeehae Ahn has captivated international audiences with her rare blend of musical brilliance, sensitivity, and emotional depth. As a soloist and chamber musician, she has performed in major venues, series, and festivals throughout North America, Asia, and Europe, among them Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, Boston Symphony Hall, Flynn Performing Arts Center, Abravanel Hall, Jordan Hall, Calderwood Hall at Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Seoul Arts Center, Mozart Hall, Moscow Conservatory, University of Music and Theatre Leipzig, Rockport Chamber Music Festival, Busan Music Festival, Summer Institute of Contemporary Performance Practice, International Liszt Symposium, Korean-American Cultural Foundation, and MusicFest Canada.
Esther earned her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in Piano Performance from New England Conservatory and Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano Performance and Literature from Eastman School of Music, with a minor degree in Accompanying and Chamber Music. Her teachers have included the late Russell Sherman, Wha Kyung Byun, Meng-Chieh Liu, Rebecca Penneys, Douglas Humpherys, Paul Biss, Gabriel Chodos, Donald and Vivian Weilerstein, and Jean Barr. She has won numerous prizes and awards, including first prizes in Junior Chopin Competition, Harvard Musical Association Competition, Boston Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition, Busan Music Festival Competition, Ye-Eum Piano Festival, Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, Frances B. Lanier Award from New England Conservatory’s Preparatory School, and Arnold C. Taylor Award from Walnut Hill School for the Arts, where she graduated summa cum laude and was inducted to the National Society of High School Scholars. She was a guest artist at the South Korean launch of Steinway & Sons, the Ministry of National Defense in South Korea, and at the US-Korea Conference in New York City. Her performances have been broadcast on National Public Radio’s (NPR) From the Top and WSMR Classical.
Equally at home with the traditional canon and music of our own time, Esther’s advocacy of new music has led to working closely with such distinguished composers as Peter Maxwell Davies and Unsuk Chin, as well as performances of works by leading contemporary voices including Jessie Montgomery, Caroline Shaw, Jennifer Higdon, Steve Reich, and John Harbison. She gave the world premiere of Amy Dunker’s solo works written for the courageous people of Ukraine. In recent seasons, Esther has been invited to appear as a guest artist with the American Liszt Society, NOVA Chamber Music Series, Bonneville Chamber Music Festival, Korean-American Federation of Utah,
Ogden Piano Festival Cultural Extravaganza, Browning Trio, and at two special gala celebrations for Walnut Hill School for the Arts. Additionally, she can be heard as a collaborative pianist on the recording of Thom Priest’s original composition for Bassoon and Piano, “Running the Green.” The 2024–2025 season featured an array of performances across the United States and abroad, including a solo recital as the Conference Artist for the Utah Music Teachers Association State Conference, a lecture-recital at the Cleveland Institute of Music, concerts of contemporary and chamber repertoire, a return to the Charlotte Bach Festival, and teaching and performing engagements throughout South Korea — including a solo recital at Steinway Hall in Seoul. The 2025–2026 season includes a recital at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, a concert of newly commissioned solo piano works with NEXT Ensemble, and appearances as soloist and chamber musician in a range of performances around the nation with flutist Emi Ferguson, violinists Aisslinn Nosky and Blanka Bednarz, and cellists Guy Fishman and Cheung Chau. Esther also gives a featured performance with members of the Utah Symphony.
As an artist-teacher, her passion lies in nurturing individual expression, human compassion, and unique talents from all walks of life. Esther currently serves as Assistant Professor of Piano at Weber State University, where she is also the Director of WSUPiano Festival and Accompanying area. In the summers, she is on the Artist Faculty of Bay PianoFest at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Additionally, she held the role of Program Assistant at the Rebecca Penneys Piano Festival at the University of South Florida for two seasons and was a faculty-mentor at Bravo Waukegan and American Music Centre. A sought-after adjudicator and clinician, she has been invited to judge numerous competitions and give masterclasses across the country. Esther is also Chair of the Music Teachers National Association Piano Performance Competition for the State of Utah and has served as the Chair of the Collegiate Program for the Utah Music Teachers Association. She previously taught at New England Conservatory and Eastman School of Music and served on the piano faculty at Clarke University.
Violinist Blanka Bednarz is an alumna of the Jadwiga Kaliszewska Talent School in Poznan, Poland, the University of Kansas, and the New England Conservatory. She studied with Eric Rosenblith, Michelle Auclair, and Benyevich, in addition to viola with James Dunham and chamber music with Patricia Zander and members of the Ying, Cavani, and Borromeo Quartets.
As a soloist, she has performed with the Hunan Symphony, Connecticut Virtuosi, Symphony and Chamber Orchestras of the New England Conservatory, Gettysburg Chamber Orchestra, Sinfonietta Polonia, and the Delaware County Symphony. She has performed in the USA, United Kingdom, Poland, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Finland, China, the Netherlands, and Lithuania, at venues such as Jordan Hall in Boston, Miller Hall, An Die Musik, Philadelphia Ethical Society, Kosciuszko Foundation, Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Grosser Sendesaal des Rundfunks Berlin-Brandenburg, the Beijing Concert Hall, and Adam Mickiewicz University Auditorium in Poznan. She can be heard on Capstone Records, Acte Prealable, and Musica Omnia. Bednarz is an avid chamber musician. She participated in series and festivals, such as the HighlandsCashier Chamber Music Festival, the Candlelight Series in Baltimore, the Park City Chamber Music Festival, the Intermezzo Chamber Music Series, the NEXT and NOVA series in Utah, the Chopin Festival in Miami, Florida, in the USA, and “Chopinesque Confrontations”, “International Festival of Organ and Chamber Music” in Słupsk, Mozart Festival in Poznan and Chanterelle Festival in Gołuchów in Poland, on invitations from organizations such as the Chopin Foundation of the United States, Kościuszko Foundation, Karol Szymanowski Society, and Polish Embassies in Beijing and Berlin. With Atma Trio, she performed throughout Europe, the United States, and China. Atma Trio’s CD, on the leading Polish label Acte Préalable, was highly praised in Muzyka 21: “Excellent piano trios by Mendelssohn and Ravel in masterful rendition.”
She collaborated with renowned artists such as John Novacek, Barry Snyder, Rita Sloan, Vedrana Subotic, Brian Ganz, Doris Stevenson, Jeffrey Price, Jeffrey Solow, Simon Gollo, Manuel Ramos, Adrian Levine, Monte Belknap, Richard Stoltzman, Leslie and Russell Harlow, members of Boston, St. Louis, and Baltimore Symphonies, Corigliano and Amernet Quartets, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Alarm Will Sound, Harrisburg, Utah, and the Baltimore Symphonies. From 2007 to 2008, Bednarz was the first violinist of the Vega String Quartet-in-residence at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, (“marvelous foursome,” Strad).
Bednarz is currently a faculty member of the University of Utah, the International Musicians Academy, and the Gifted Music School. She is a conductor and
Executive Director of UVYSO and Associate Conductor of the Utah Valley Symphony. She taught at Dickinson College, the Young Artist Institute under Park City Chamber Music Festival (UT), NEC Preparatory School, Emory University, and Utah Valley University. She coached chamber music at the International Musical Arts Institute, ME; the International Music Institute and Festival, MD, at Franklin Pond in Atlanta. She has given master classes at universities and colleges in the USA, Poland, and China. Bednarz has served as concertmaster of Sinfonietta Polonia, Gettysburg Chamber Orchestra, NEC Chamber Orchestra, Utah Metropolitan Ballet Orchestra, and many others, as well as co-leading ensembles like the Boston Modern Orchestra Project. The CD of Matthew Bengtson and Blanka Bednarz, Karol Szymanowski: Music for Violin/Piano; Piano Solo (2017 on Musica Omnia) was awarded a Global Music Awards Silver Medal – Outstanding Achievement in classical and instrumental/ instrumentalist category.
“Blanka Bednarz is clearly a remarkable violinist . . . ”
–D.
Morrison, Fanfare