Pianist Jocelyn Swigger will play the complete Chopin etudes.

Jocelyn Swigger will play the complete Chopin etudes at Westminster Church in West Hartford. Submitted photo

Submitted

Pianist Jocelyn Swigger will perform the complete etudes by Frederic Chopin in concert at Westminster Presbyterian Church on Sunday, Sept. 11, 2016, at 3 p.m.

The 27 etudes by Frederic Chopin are widely regarded as some of the most difficult and beautiful pieces in the classical piano literature. It is rare for a soloist to attempt to play all of them in one evening, and it is likely that this will be the first time the complete set has been performed in West Hartford.

The concert will be held in the church sanctuary at 2080 Boulevard, West Hartford, CT, and is handicapped accessible. The recital is free and open to the public with a suggested $10.00 donation. This will mark the first concert in the new concert series Music on the Boulevard.

Frederic Chopin is famous for being one of the most expressive and emotional composers of the Romantic era. He wrote almost exclusively for the piano. “When people say they love piano music,” Swigger said, “I think what they often mean is that they love Chopin.”

Swigger has been working on the Chopin etudes for five years. The etudes are short pieces that develop specific technical skills, and playing them all is an artistic, intellectual and athletic feat. Swigger described working on them as “like taking piano lessons with Chopin; learning to play them has been like getting another graduate degree. It’s the most difficult musical challenge I’ve ever faced, and after five years living with them I’m not tired of them. I still learn from them every day, and I’m still amazed by how beautiful and expressive they are.” In addition to playing, Swigger will talk from the stage and explain some of the specific details of the etudes.

Swigger is Associate Professor of Music and Coordinator of Keyboard Studies of the Sunderman Conservatory of Music, now celebrating its tenth anniversary at Gettysburg College. Before coming to Gettysburg, Swigger taught at Fort Lewis College, the Hochstein Music School, CUNY Queensborough, and Adelphi University, and played as a collaborative artist and accompanist for the Manhattan School of Music, the Castleman Quartet Program, the Boys Choir of Harlem, and the Juilliard School. She has presented at the MTNA national conference as well as regional CMS and PMTA conferences. She performs as a solo and collaborative pianist in the United States, Europe, and South America.  She has appeared as performer and teacher at the Ameropa chamber music festival in the Czech Republic and Spain. In 2013 she joined the faculty of the Richmond CMI European Chamber Music Institute for their European tour. She spent the summer of 2008 on a Fulbright Scholar Teaching Grant in Asunción, Paraguay, teaching piano and chamber music. She holds undergraduate degrees from Oberlin College and Oberlin Conservatory, and master’s and doctoral degrees from the Eastman School of Music.  Her principal teachers are Rebecca Penneys and Evelyne Brancart.

Swigger is a Con Brio Recording Artist. Her latest album is Troublesome Moon (and other forgotten gems from Tin Pan Alley). Her CD Rhythms and Blues: American Piano Music, was praised in Gramophone Magazine as “Just the right amount of Swagger from Swigger, with a brave coda to boot,” and listed as MusicWeb International’s Record of the Month. American Record Guide called it “racy, highly enjoyable” and said, “She is adept in projecting the crunch and swagger…as she is in evoking the delicate clouds of sound…her languid sensuality…is seductive.” Radio broadcasts include NPR stations WBFO in Buffalo NY, WSUiR in Wichita KS, and WIPR in Interlochen WI. She hosts two podcasts: Play It Again Swig, her audio practice diary, and Just Piano Improv. Both are available on iTunes, Stitcher, and at playitagainswig.com.

A musical omnivore, Swigger has premiered new works by composers including Dennis DeSantis, Payton MacDonald, Gavin Chuck, Aaron Grad, Buzz Jones, Greg Mertl, Forrest Pierce, and Allan Krantz. She has appeared on Composers Forum concerts at Eastman, Oberlin, Cornell, and NYU, and was a board member and frequent performer for Ossia New Music at Eastman.  In recent years, her interest in early music has led her to study and perform on the harpsichord and fortepiano. In addition to her life as a classical musician, she has also performed on accordion, vocals, and occasional electric bass in the indie folk rock band Gettysburg Pirate Orchestra. In addition to performing and recording all of Chopin’s etudes, Swigger’s other current projects are learning to improvise in the classical style and teaching herself to play the ukulele. To learn more visit www.jocelynswigger.com.