The Westhuizen Duo, a pair of critically acclaimed pianists who have delighted audiences throughout the United States and their native South Africa, will appear at Carleton College in a special performance on Friday, April 19 at 8 p.m. in the Concert Hall. The program will include Franz Schubert’s piano duet “Fantasia in F Minor,” Percy Grainger’s “Fantasy on George Gershwin’s ‘Porgy and Bess’” and works by Francis Poulenc and Ástor Piazzolla. The concert is free and open to the public. Learn more and hear samples online at www.westhuizenduo.com/.
Pierre and Sophié van der Westhuizen are a husband-and-wife piano duo. They currently reside in the Cleveland area, where Pierre serves as the executive director of the Cleveland International Piano Competition and Sophie is a member of the faculty of Youngstown State University. The duo has premiered numerous works by young American and South African composers and has been featured at music festivals in both countries including the nationally televised Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series in Chicago. Pierre van der Westhuizen continues to perform as a soloist, including a stint with the Toledo Symphony Orchestra and the National Chamber Orchestra in South Africa. He is a graduate of the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati and of North-West University in South Africa. Sophié (Grobler) van der Westhuizen, who began her musical career at the age of four, also continues to perform as a soloist, including with the National Chamber Orchestra in South Africa. Before coming to Youngstown State, Sophié was an associate professor of piano at Heidelberg University in Germany, and she has performed and lectured throughout the United States, Europe and South Africa. Besides her work at Youngstown State Sophié teaches piano at Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland and at the Cleveland Music Settlement.
For more information about this event, including disability accommodations, contact the Carleton College Department of Music at (507) 222-4347. The Carleton College Concert Hall is located on First Street, between Winona and Nevada Streets, in Northfield.
