News

The Lee University Presidential Concert Series will conclude its 31st season with the highly sought after pianist Gloria Chien, joined by clarinetist Anthony McGill and mezzo-soprano Fleur Barron. The concert will take place on Monday, March 25, at 7:30 p.m. in The Lee Chapel.  

The Monday evening performance will feature Johannes Brahms’ “Zwei Gesänge” and “Clarinet Sonata in F Minor;” Kian Ravaei’s “Gulistan (Flower Garden),” two selections from Huang Ruo’s “Song of Everlasting Regret,” and Chinese folk songs. 

“We are always happy to welcome Gloria and her guests back to Lee University and our local audience,” said Darlia Conn, director of the Presidential Concert Series. “Gloria is not only a wonderful colleague, but also a brilliant performer who has impressed audiences all over the world.  It will also be great to welcome clarinetist Anthony McGill back to Cleveland and the lovely, stellar mezzo-soprano Fleur Barron.” 

Chien, named one of the superior pianists of the year “who appears to excel in everything” (Boston Globe), has had a 21-year relationship with Lee University, where she is currently an artist-in-residence. Chien serves as the co-artistic director of Chamber Music Northwest in Portland, Oregon, as well as the Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival in Burlington, Vermont, along with her husband, Soovin Kim. In recent seasons she has performed as a recitalist and chamber musician at Alice Tully Hall, the Library of Congress, the Phillips Collection, the Kissinger Sommer festival, the Dresden Chamber Music Festival, and the National Concert Hall in Taiwan.  

For the last decade, Chien was the director of the Chamber Music Institute at Music@Menlo and frequently appears with the Chamber Music Society (CMS) of Lincoln Center. She earned her Doctor of Musical Arts from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, and she is a Steinway Artist.  

Hailed by the New York Times for his “trademark brilliance, penetrating sound, and rich character,” McGill is one of classical music’s most recognizable and multi-faceted figures. He is principal clarinet of the New York Philharmonic – the first African American principal player in the organization’s history. His album, “American Stories” with the Pacifica Quartet, is currently nominated for a Grammy for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance, and he is Musical America’s 2024 Instrumentalist of the Year.  

McGill appears regularly as a soloist with top orchestras around North America, including the New York Philharmonic, Metropolitan Opera, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, San Diego Symphony, and Kansas City Symphony. He has been covered in the New York Times and the New Yorker and has appeared on National Public Radio, Performance Today, and Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.  

Hailed as “a knockout performer” by The Times, Barron is a passionate interpreter of opera, chamber music, and concert works, ranging from the baroque to the contemporary. She is a current Rising Star of Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw and an Artistic Partner of the Orquesta Sinfonica del Principado de Asturias in Oviedo. 

Barron is committed to exploring the many ways music can facilitate cross-cultural dialogue and healing. She is also an active mentor and educator, having led vocal masterclasses and seminars at Manhattan School of Music, Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia, Royal Academy of Music, the Malaysian Philharmonic, Temple University, and King’s College London.  

Tickets for the Presidential Concert are $15 for adults and $5 for students, seniors, and children. Tickets are available for purchase on eventbrite.com/, at the Lee University Box Office in the Dixon Center, or by contacting (423) 614-8343, beginning March 18.  

For more information on the Presidential Concert Series, visit leeuniversity.edu/academics/music/pcs/ or call the School of Music at (423) 614-8240.