NEWS - | 2013-07-23Willem van Schalkwyk
Former College of the Arts Student plays Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto
Staff Reporter
The College of the Arts’ annual Concerto Festival will present a special production this year with Willem van Schalkwyk performing as the guest artist. He will perform Tchaikovsky’s ‘Second Piano Concerto’ together with the Namibian National Symphony Orchestra (NNSO).
This will be his second time as guest soloist with the NNSO; with his performance in 2003 he played Rachmaninoff’s ‘Third Piano Concerto’.
Willem is one of the College of the Arts’ proud export products.
Applauded by the Salt Lake City Tribune for “maturity beyond his years” and “dizzying technical facility,” Namibian pianist Willem took piano lessons in Windhoek with Valerie van Biljon at the College of the Arts.
By the time he was 16, he won his first international piano competition in Réunion, France. He received the College’s Prize of Excellence, allowing him to attend the Interlochen Arts Camp in the USA.
While a student of Van Biljon he regularly performed in Windhoek, including annual performances with the orchestra at the Concerto Festival and a performance with the Johannesburg Symphony Orchestra. His final achievement under Van Biljon’s tutelage was the Bronze Medal at the Hennie Joubert Piano Competition in 2000, in addition to several special prizes at the competition.
Upon the completion of his Bachelor’s degree in Piano Performance at Brigham Young University in 2004, Van Schalkwyk started his graduate studies at the University of North Texas as a student of Joseph Banowetz. During this period he regularly performed in the USA, Namibia, and South Africa and was also the winner of the Scionti Piano Competition and recipient of the Audience Prize at the Louisiana International Piano Competition.
He graduated from the University of North Texas with his Doctorate in Piano Performance in August 2009.
As collaborative artist Willem has performed with many esteemed artists, including instrumentalists from the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and the Utah Symphony. Most recently he appeared in recital with the New York Philharmonic’s English horn player, Thomas Stacey.
As a vocal coach and pianist he has served on the music staff of the Santa Fe Opera, the Arizona Opera, the American Institute of Musical Studies’ summer programme for singers in Austria, the Utah Opera, and the Opera in the Ozarks.
Willem is currently a pianist, instructor and vocal coach at Southern Utah University. Recent highlights of his concert schedule include performances of Mozart’s ‘Concertos for Two and Three Pianos’.
The Concerto Festival takes place on 2 and 3 August in the National Theatre of Namibia (NTN) from 19h00. The price of the tickets are N$80, N$65 and N$50. Pensioners and scholars pay N$40. Tickets can be bought at the NTN, contact 061 374 400 or on the Computicket website.
Willem is one of the College of the Arts’ proud export products.
Applauded by the Salt Lake City Tribune for “maturity beyond his years” and “dizzying technical facility,” Namibian pianist Willem took piano lessons in Windhoek with Valerie van Biljon at the College of the Arts.
By the time he was 16, he won his first international piano competition in Réunion, France. He received the College’s Prize of Excellence, allowing him to attend the Interlochen Arts Camp in the USA.
While a student of Van Biljon he regularly performed in Windhoek, including annual performances with the orchestra at the Concerto Festival and a performance with the Johannesburg Symphony Orchestra. His final achievement under Van Biljon’s tutelage was the Bronze Medal at the Hennie Joubert Piano Competition in 2000, in addition to several special prizes at the competition.
Upon the completion of his Bachelor’s degree in Piano Performance at Brigham Young University in 2004, Van Schalkwyk started his graduate studies at the University of North Texas as a student of Joseph Banowetz. During this period he regularly performed in the USA, Namibia, and South Africa and was also the winner of the Scionti Piano Competition and recipient of the Audience Prize at the Louisiana International Piano Competition.
He graduated from the University of North Texas with his Doctorate in Piano Performance in August 2009.
As collaborative artist Willem has performed with many esteemed artists, including instrumentalists from the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and the Utah Symphony. Most recently he appeared in recital with the New York Philharmonic’s English horn player, Thomas Stacey.
As a vocal coach and pianist he has served on the music staff of the Santa Fe Opera, the Arizona Opera, the American Institute of Musical Studies’ summer programme for singers in Austria, the Utah Opera, and the Opera in the Ozarks.
Willem is currently a pianist, instructor and vocal coach at Southern Utah University. Recent highlights of his concert schedule include performances of Mozart’s ‘Concertos for Two and Three Pianos’.
The Concerto Festival takes place on 2 and 3 August in the National Theatre of Namibia (NTN) from 19h00. The price of the tickets are N$80, N$65 and N$50. Pensioners and scholars pay N$40. Tickets can be bought at the NTN, contact 061 374 400 or on the Computicket website.
