HILLSBORO, Kan. – Tabor Arts is excited to host a collaborative visual and performing arts event titled “Images” on Sunday, Feb. 12 at 4 p.m. in the Tabor College Chapel. The recital and art show features the work of Tabor faculty.
Claude Debussy’s six piano pieces, titled “Images,” serve as the inspiration for the collaborative effort and will be performed by pianist J. Bradley Baker, who serves as Tabor’s staff pianist and vocal coach. Each of the pieces is meant to evoke certain images in the mind of the audience.
Along with Baker, soprano Jen Stephenson, assistant professor of music and director of vocal studies, and Shin-hee Chin, associate professor of art, have worked together to choose and create pieces that work together to give the audience an exciting way to experience art.
“We are thrilled to present this multi-faceted look at Debussy’s music with Jen and Shin-hee,” Baker said. “Debussy is rightfully one of the most well-known French composers, and his music always contains beautiful musical images.”
For her part, Stephenson has selected six French vocal works that correlate with the piano pieces. Chin has created six pieces inspired by the pieces of Debussy’s music.
“As someone who dabbled in painting and literature, Debussy would be pleased to hear his evocative music juxtaposed with gorgeous French poetry and the remarkable art of Shin-hee Chin,” Baker said. “This recital is the epitome of what makes a Tabor College liberal arts education special.”
Baker
earned degrees from North Dakota State University, Cleveland Institute of Music and The University of Alabama. He enjoys a versatile career as a performing artist, vocal coach and educator. He has held appointments at Tabor College, The University of Alabama, The University of Texas at Tyler and Stillman College. His performances have been heard on public radio throughout North America and Great Britain. At Tabor, Baker directs the music preparatory school, which provides residents of Hillsboro and the surrounding area with instrumental and vocal lessons.
Stephenson
holds degrees from The University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Westfield State University, The University of South Florida and The University of Alabama. She has performed nationally and internationally in a wide range of opera roles including Mother in “Hansel and Gretel” and Frasquita in “Carmen.” She has also worked behind the scenes as an operatic stage director for university and community opera programs. In addition to her roles as director of vocal studies and director of opera at Tabor College, Stephenson directs the college’s women’s choir, Concerto Bella Voce.
Chin
was born and raised in Seoul, South Korea, and received her BFA and MFA from Hong-Ik University. She immigrated to the U.S along with her husband and earned a MA in fiber arts from California State University at Long Beach while raising two children. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally including Washington, D.C., Tokyo, Japan and Geneva, Switzerland. Works by Chin have been featured in publications and she has won numerous awards. Chin has been teaching at Tabor College for 14 years and in 2008 was elected as Distinguished Faculty.