Leap Year Celebration - Masterpieces for Piano and Cello

Enjoy an exquisite evening of classical music with the brilliantly talented duo of Beatrice Long and Sophie Shao at The Watchung Arts Center on Saturday, February 29 at 8PM. The repertoire will include works from Bach, Beethoven, Schumann and Debussy. Experience an exceptional harmony of compositions by these award winning musicians. Their melodious uplifting performance will be followed by a dessert reception and an opportunity to meet the artists.

Beatrice Long is an internationally acclaimed pianist whose notable performances includes soloist with Baltimore Symphony, Orquesta Sinfonia Estato de Mexico, National Symphony of Taiwan, Taipei Symphony Orchestra, Jura Symphony Orchestra (France) and Ensemble du Monde among others. A medalist in Cleveland International Competition, she has performed recitals in four continents at venues such as Chicago’s Ravinia Festival, Festivals of Champagne and Fontainebleau (France), Kunsthalle Appenzelle (Switzerland), Phillips Gallery (Washington D.C.), and major concert halls in the US, Asia, and Central and Latin America.

Cellist Sophie Shao received an Avery Fisher Career Grant at age 19, was a major prizewinner at the 2001 Rostropovich Competition, and a laureate of the XII Tchaikovsky Competition in 2002. She has given the world premiere performances of Howard Shore's Mythic Gardens, a concerto written for her; and Richard Wilson's Concerto for Cello and Mezzo-Soprano with Leon Botstein and the American Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Shao appeared as soloist with the BBC Concert Orchestra and Keith Lockhart in performances of the Elgar and Haydn C major concertos at the Bard Music Festival.