Kellogg Community College Music Area Coordinator and Vocal Arts Director Dr. Gerald Case-Blanchard will perform a pair of Faculty/Guest Artist Recital events this month accompanied by music educator and celebrated pianist Dr. Wendy Wan-Hsing Chu.
The first performance will begin at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 18, in the Lecture Theater at Delta College, 1961 Delta Road in University Center. The second performance will begin at 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 25, in the auditorium of the Davidson Visual and Performing Arts Center, on campus at 450 North Ave. in Battle Creek.
Tickets for the Delta College performance Feb. 18 are $10 and available at the door; the KCC performance Feb. 25 is free and open to the public.
The recital, which is co-sponsored by the two institutions, will showcase the high-caliber talent of the two musicians, who have been performing together since graduate school. Both Case-Blanchard, a lyric baritone, and pianist Chu are accomplished musicians with decades of experience performing professionally as well as educating generations of music students in their craft.
The program will include nearly a dozen selections including Baroque, Classical, Romantic and Contemporary spirituals.
For more information about the KCC Music Faculty/Guest Artist Recital or additional music events and initiatives at KCC, contact Case-Blanchard at 269-965-3931 ext. 2566 or email case-blanchardg@kellogg.edu.
About the Artist: Dr. Gerald Case-Blanchard
A native of Philadelphia, Dr. Gerald Case-Blanchard has concertized throughout the United States, Europe and Canada. He is featured on several commercial recordings including his solo compact disc, “With a Song in My Heart,” on Blue Griffin Records and Mozart’s “Requiem Mass in D Minor,” under the artistic direction of Maestro Charles Burke and the Detroit Symphony Civic Orchestra on Orchestra Hall Records. Case-Blanchard currently serves as the director of vocal/choral music at KCC, a position he has held since 2004.
Case-Blanchard is the recipient of several awards and recognitions. In Summer 2000, he was a first-place winner in the Opera Memphis/University of Memphis National Singers Search auditions. He is also a Gil Rau Choral Scholar, a King/Chavez/Parks Fellow and was a 2001 Classical Division winner in the inaugural vocal competition sponsored by the Greater Lansing Symphony Orchestra.
Also a teacher, mentor, scholar and administrator, Case-Blanchard is an expert on African American art songs and spirituals. Highlights of his career include performances with the Philadelphia, Kennett (Pennsylvania), Battle Creek, Lansing, Midland and Kalamazoo symphony orchestras. In addition to his concert work, he has performed with the renowned Grand Teton Music Festival Orchestra and Opera, Opera Delaware, and the Bel Canto Lyric Opera Company of Philadelphia. His Operatic highlights include “Die Fledermaus” (Falke), “Cosi fan Tutte” (Don Alfonso), “Orpheus in the Underworld” (Jupiter), “Le Nozze di Figaro” (Figaro), “Il Matrimonio Segreto” (Count Robinson) and “Madama Butterfly” (Bonze).
Case-Blanchard has been featured in numerous performances of Orff’s “Carmina Burana,” Handel’s “Messiah,” Mozart’s “Requiem,” Haydn’s “Lord Nelson Mass,” Bach’s “Magnificat,” Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 9,” Bach’s “The Passion According to St. John,” Schubert’s “Mass in G,” Mozart’s “Mass in C Minor,” Vaughn Williams’ “Fantasia on Christmas Carols” and Haydn’s “Creation.” A highly sought-after recitalist, clinician, lecturer and mentor, Case-Blanchard has appeared on PBS station WHYY in Philadelphia and local NPR stations throughout Michigan.
Dr. Case-Blanchard received a Bachelor of Science in Music Education and Conducting from West Chester University’s School of Music, a Master of Music in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy from Central Michigan University’s School of Music, and a Doctor of Musical Arts in Voice Performance from Michigan State University’s College of Music. He currently serves on the Board of the American Choral Directors Association’s Michigan State Chapter.
About the Artist: Dr. Wendy Wan-Hsing Chu
Taiwanese pianist and harpsichordist Dr. Wendy Wan-Hsing Chu has performed in numerous solo and chamber recitals in Taiwan, Austria, Canada and the United States. She has made appearances in festivals, concert series and master classes and has been featured on PBS.
Chu earned her Master of Music in both Piano Performance and Music Education from Central Michigan University, where she was the winner of the concerto competition. While at CMU, she studied piano with Dr. Alexandra Mascolo-David, piano pedagogy with Dr. Adrienne Wiley, and harpsichord with Dr. Steven Egler. She received her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano Performance from Michigan State University. Her principal teachers were Mr. Ralph Votapek and Mr. Panayis Lyras. Residing in Saginaw, Chu teaches at her private studio and at Delta College.
As a recording artist, Chu has made recordings with vocalist Nicholas Allen, saxophonist Mandy Grezeszak and pianist Jeanne Hanley Thelen. Also a dedicated educator, she employs her training in the Alexander Technique and the Taubman Approach to help students overcome technical limitations and prevent injuries in order to bring out the music within them. She has taught at Michigan State University, Central Michigan University, Saginaw Valley State University and the Stella Royce Piano Camp.
Dr. Chu is a past president of the Mid-Michigan Music Teachers Association and serves as the Michigan Music Teachers Association (MMTA) Chairman of the Concerto Competition. She has also adjudicated for piano competitions and Student Achievement Testing for MMTA.
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