Dr. Jeff Manchur, a solo and collaborative pianist, will perform a solo piano recital at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, March 26th, at Marietta College’s Alma McDonough Auditorium.
The recital, “Choosing Joy: Music from a Cancer Journey,” is free and open to the public. It will feature music by Beethoven, Brahms, and North American composers Amy Beach, Samuel Barber, Jocelyn Morlock, and Garrett Hope. The music is presented as a celebration of the highs and lows of Manchur’s wife’s victorious battle against breast cancer.
“We are extremely pleased to offer this opportunity to the community to hear the incredible talent of Dr. Jeff Manchur,” said Marshall Kimball, Chairman of Marietta College’s Edward E. MacTaggart Department of Music. “However, the title of the recital says a great deal about the journey this recital will take attendees on. During his wife’s own personal journey, they experienced many emotions. There is probably no one that hasn’t been touched by cancer in some way. Personal, family, friend or others have suffered and fought this disease changing everyone’s lives forever. This music will speak to the souls of all in attendance. We hope this recital will provide a musical and healing experience for those in attendance.”
Manchur will be performing:
- The Jack Pine (2010) by Jocelyn Morlock, representing life amidst destruction
- Kenosis (2012) by Garrett Hope, representing rest coming out of chaos
- Ballade (Op. 10, No. 4) by Johannes Brahms, a very sad piece masked with a smile.
- Ballade (Op. 46), by Samuel Barber, representing agitation
- Ballad (Op. 9) by Amy Beach, representing the love my wife and I have for each other, and love shown by friends, family, and community in difficult times
- Eroica’ Variations (Op. 35), by Ludwig van Beethoven, signaling victory
Between performances in old warehouses, basements, art museums, sculpture gardens, and traditional concert halls, wearing tuxedos with tails or jeans and sock feet, playing old music and new, Manchur has remained committed to creating diverse and challenging musical experiences for audiences across the United States and Canada.
He has performed Morton Feldman’s iconic 4 hour and 45 minute-long “For Philip Guston” with Chamber Cartel in Atlanta and regularly performs on the toy piano (he owns two), appearing across the United States at the inaugural Omaha Under the Radar, and the Bowling Green State University, Studio 300, and Tutti New Music festivals.
Manchur is equally dedicated to the classical canon, and contemporary music of the 20th and 21st centuries. Beginning in August of 2018, he embarked on a three-year project, Mozart in a Month, where he will learn and perform all 18 of Mozart’s Piano Sonatas, chronicling his journey on social media, and through written and audio/video updates.
His early piano studies were with Sandra Dowhan in Dauphin, Manitoba, before completing undergraduate and graduate degrees in piano performance, studying with Joan Miller, Paul Barnes, Thomas Rosenkranz, and Louis Nagel. He has served on the faculties of Marietta College, Heidelberg University, and Bowling Green. Presently, Jeff serves on the Suzuki piano faculty of the Toledo Symphony School of Music.