Peckville Native to Perform at University Feb. 20

On Sunday, Feb. 20, Performance Music at The University of Scranton will present a recital by nationally acclaimed solo and orchestral concert pianist and Peckville native John Wilson. The recital will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Houlihan-McLean Center, Mulberry Street and Jefferson Avenue.

Admission is free, with seating on a first-come, first-seated basis. All audience members are required to wear a higher-grade mask (N95, KN95, KF94 or double masking) at all times. Please check Performance Music’s website, scranton.edu/music, within 24 hours of the recital for the most current information on additional required audience COVID-19 mitigation measures (e.g., masking, vaccination, distancing, etc.).

Wilson, a graduate of Valley View High School who holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University, will perform Aaron Copland’s Piano Sonata, Upon Further Reflection by Michael Tilson Thomas and Seven Virtuoso Études after Gershwin.

According to Performance Music Conductor and Director Cheryl Y. Boga, “it has been an amazing experience to have a front row seat to the artistic development and achievement of this young man from his middle school and high school years performing at local schools and music festivals to his current command of national and international stages as a soloist and with major orchestras.”

Proclaimed a “marvelous musical mad scientist” by the Music Critics Association of North America, Wilson has distinguished himself with a deep repertoire ranging from baroque to contemporary. He has performed extensively throughout North America at high-profile venues such as New York City’s Merkin Hall, Miami’s New World Symphony Center and San Francisco’s Louis M. Davies Hall. As a soloist, he has performed with the New World Symphony, Napa Valley Symphony Orchestra and both the New Amsterdam Symphony and Orchestra Camerata Notturn in New York.

Meanwhile, Wilson has become a sought-after collaborator for some of the world’s most prolific composers, performing on the U.S and world premieres of solo piano works by Michael Tilson Thomas, duo works by Timo Andres and Judith Lang Zaimont, and ensemble works by Steve Reich, Reinbert de Leeuw, HK Gruber and Bernd Deutsch.

The top prize winner in a number of international piano competitions, Wilson took first prize in the 2019 International Respighi Competition, resulting in an invitation to perform as soloist with the Chamber Orchestra of New York. In addition, he won first place in the American Prize Foundation 2019 Competition and Best Performance of an American Work at the 2017 Liszt-Garrison International Piano Competition.

Wilson also is an in-demand chamber musician and collaborator, appearing in chamber ensembles with musicians from the San Francisco Symphony, Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal and San Diego Symphony. In addition, he has performed recitals with violinist Joshua Bell, cellist Johannes Moser, violinist Anthony Marwood and soprano Audra McDonald. He has recorded for MSR Classics, and his performances can be heard on Medici.tv and WQXR.

For further information on the recital, call 570-941-7624, email music@scranton.edu or visit scranton.edu/music. For more information on Wilson, visit johnwilsonpiano.com.