San Francisco's Home for Great Concerts since 1970

Sandra Wright Shen – Sunday, December 23 at 4 pm

Sandra Wright Shen, piano

Corelli / Godowsky Christmas Pastorale
J. S. Bach Partita No. 5 in G major
Franz Liszt Christmas Tree Suite, S. 186
Percy Grainger Sussex Mummers Christmas Carol
Vítězslav Novak Songs of a Winter Night – Christmas Night
Olivier Messiaen Le baiser de l’Enfant-Jesus
George Crumb Little Suite for Christmas AD 1979 – Canticle of the Holy Night
Frédéric Chopin Scherzo No. 1 in B minor, Op. 20

Steinway Artist Sandra Wright Shen has been described as a classical “pianist of the first” and a “heart stopping beauty”. With her passion, musicality, and inspiration, she aims to move hearts through music. Her program at Old First Concerts is a special Christmas-themed concert, ranging from Bach’s G major Partita to a movement from Messiaen’s Vingt Regards sur l’enfant-Jésus, with Romantic works by Liszt and Chopin, and more!

Sandra has performed as a soloist and chamber musician in 14 countries and throughout US, at prestigious venues such as the Kennedy Music Center, Chicago Cultural Center, Monte Carlo Opera House, Palau de la Música Catalana, Frankfurt Cultural Cente, the Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing, Taiwan National Concert Hall, Korea Seoul Arts Center, Hong Kong City Hall, Granada Intl Music Festival, Recontres Musicale de Chaon in France, Brevard Music Festival and Masterworks Music Festival. Shen is the Artist-In-Residence of the Charleston Symphony for the 2017-18 season.

She has played chamber concerts with Vesselin Paraschkevov, former concert master of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, and with Amos Yang, Assistant Principal Cello of San Francisco Symphony. She has also performed on tour in Asia with cellist Nina Kotova. Shen received first prizes in several major piano competitions, including the 2012 France International Piano Competition, 1997 Hilton Head International Piano Competition, the 1996 Mieczyslaw Munz Piano Competition, and the 1990 Taiwan National Piano Competition. Shen’s recordings include her debut CD featuring Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto, recorded live, and the Saint-Saëns Carnival of the Animals, both released on the Taiwan Rolling Stone Music label.

France International Piano Competition, 1997 Hilton Head International Piano Competition, the 1996 Mieczyslaw Munz Piano Competition, and the 1990 Taiwan National Piano Competition. Shen’s recordings include her debut CD featuring Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto, recorded live, and the Saint-Saëns Carnival of the Animals, both released on the Taiwan Rolling Stone Music label.

As an educator, Shen served on the piano faculty at the Brevard Music Festival, was invited twice as Distinguished Visiting Professor at Furman University, Masterworks Music Festival, Steinway Society Summer Music camp. She also previously served as piano faculty at Southern Illinois University. Sandra performed live for WCQS radio station in Asheville, filmed a 4-part series titled The Movements of the Master Pianists for Hong Kong TV, Inspiration From Above for US Creation TV. She also hosted a classical music program on Taiwan IC broadcast radio station FM97.5. Mixing music and philanthropy,

Sandra has played benefit concerts for disaster victims, foster children, and music education for underprivileged children. She is Honorary Advisor for Young Music Foundation and board member for Inspiring Foundation of Arts and Culture in Taiwan. Sandra was born in Taiwan and continued her musical studies in the United States. She received her Bachelor of Music in 1994 with a piano performance major and organ minor from the Peabody Conservatory of Music, where she studied with legendary pianist, Ann Schein and organist Donald Sutherland. She lives in the SF Bay area, and is thrilled to play for Old First Concerts! For more information about Sandra, please visit her website at sandrashen.com

Old First Concerts has volunteer opportunities available!

Our concerts rely on the generosity of volunteers to assist with simple tasks like:

ushering

distributing programs

box office

set-up and clean-up

Scheduling is flexible — you choose when to work! We especially need helping hands for our Friday and Saturday night performances.

An excellent opportunity for students, seniors, or anyone who possesses a love for music!

If you’d like to consider volunteering with Old First Concerts, please contact curtishuth@oldfirstconcerts.org for more information.