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Event
MAURICE RAVEL'S COMPLETE SOLO PIANO WORKS
THE COMPLETE SOLO PIANO WORKS OF MAURICE RAVEL (1875-1937)
To celebrate the 150th birthday of French composer Maurice Ravel, renowned pianist Dr. Gwendolyn Mok has gathered a group of pianists to perform the complete repertoire of Ravels solo piano works on Saturday, November 8, 2025, from 3-7 pm at Piedmont Center for the Arts in downtown Piedmont, CA.
The concert will be divided into two halves. The first half includes his early works: "Sérénade grotesque," "Menuet antique," "Pavane pour une infante défunte," "Jeux d'eau," "Sonatine," and "Miroirs." These early works reveal a refinement of classical clarity infused with impressionistic color, transparent textures, delicate ornamentation, and harmonic innovation that expand on Liszt and Debussy while maintaining elegance and restraint.
The second half of the concert consists of Ravel's later solo piano compositions, which are more structurally complex, daring, and virtuosic: "Gaspard de la nuit," "Menuet sur le nom d'Haydn," "Valses nobles et sentimentales," "Prélude," "À la manière de Borodine," and "Chabrier," as well as "Le Tombeau de Couperin" and "La Valse." These later-period pieces emphasize drama, technical brilliance, precision, and orchestral intensity.
The thirteen performers come mostly from the San Francisco Bay Area, with guests from Toronto, Canada and Tokyo, Japan. They include Silicon Valley engineers, lawyers, an accountant, an actuary, public relations professionals, etc. Many of them have competed in prestigious international piano competitions for amateur pianists and many are top prize winners.
These performers include Brad Arington, Minnie Ho, Ken Iisaka, Shinhye Kim, Shiori Kiriake, Darren Lee, David Lee, Eugene Lee, Seiko Mikami, Alex Stabile, Sean Sutherland, Rebecca Wang, Wesley Wong, on PCA's glorious Steinway grand piano. Here are bios of a few of the pianists:
Sean Sutherland, born in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, discovered the piano as a child and was immediately drawn to it. At 15, he earned a scholarship to a Royal School of Music but had to decline to finish high school. Despite limited access to training, he continued to pursue his love for the instrument. He later studied at MIT, earning degrees in music, electrical engineering, and computer science. After professional work, he completed an MBA at McGill and a master's in Learning and Design Technologies at Stanford. Sean founded a tutorial service, lectured at McGill, and now works in Toronto as a Product Manager. Alongside his career, Sean has performed internationally as an amateur pianist, including with the National Steel Symphony Orchestra. He was a Van Cliburn Amateur semifinalist, competed in Europe, and won the 2021 Chopin Amateur Competition in Warsaw. That same year, he received the Anthony Sabga Caribbean Award for Excellence in the Arts and Letters.
Rebecca Wang was born in Hong Kong, and immigrated to the US at age 13. She started studying piano at age 7, graduated from MIT with a degree in Computer Science, and worked for 20 years as an actuary in New York and Hong Kong. She now lives in San Francisco with her husband and son. Rebecca won third prize at the 5th International Fryderyk Chopin Competition for Amateur Pianists in 2021 in Warsaw, Poland. She also competed at the 2016 Cliburn International Amateur Competition. She has given many solo piano recitals, including at the National Recital Halls in Taipei and Kaohsiung, Taiwan in 2024, and in Tokyo, Japan in 2016 and 2019. Rebecca enjoys painting in oil, watercolor, gouache and digitally, as well as hiking, such as to Everest Base Camp, Patagonia, Tour du Mont Blanc, and the Dolomites.
David Lee fell in love with music after immigrating to the US at age ten from Taiwan, and asked his parents for piano lessons two years later. He earned a bachelor's degree in Computer Science from Stanford University and a master's from Northwestern University. He has been a prizewinner at the Piano Link International Amateurs Competition, Piano Bridges Competition for Amateur Pianists, San Diego International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs, and the Washington International Piano Artists Competition. He also competed at the 2016 Cliburn International Amateur Competition. When not enjoying music, he works as a software engineer, tends to his roses and enjoys playing the Pokémon theme with his eight year old twins on the piano.
80% of this event's net proceeds will be donated by the organizer to a major international charity.
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LocationPiedmont Center for he Arts (View)
801 Magnolia Avenue
Piedmont, CA 94611
United States
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| Minimum Age: 8 |
| Kid Friendly: Yes! |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: Yes! |
| Wheelchair Accessible: Yes! |
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