Fine Art Series to Feature Two Pianists

As part of its Fine Arts Series, PUC’s music department will host two piano concerts this month at Paulin Hall Auditorium: Joy Muth Fackenthall and John Covelli.

Pianist Joy Muth Fackenthall will perform on Saturday, October 23, at 7 p.m. The program will include selections from Bach, Beethoven, Mozart and Saint-Saëns. Fackenthall will be accompanied by Dr. Rachelle Berthelsen Davis, violin, and Joel Dickerson, piano.

Fackenthall earned a bachelor’s degree in piano performance from Washington State University and a master’s in music performance from Western Washington University. She teaches piano lessons both privately and through the college’s Paulin Center for the Creative Arts.

Internationally acclaimed pianist John Covelli will perform on Saturday, October 30, at 7 p.m. The program includes selections from Copland, Lizst, Beethoven, Paul Ben-Haim, Debussy, Griffes and Gottschalk.

Covelli is an international prize-winning pianist, having won two of Europe’s most prestigious piano competitions—the Queen Elizabeth of Brussels and the Busoni International Piano Competition. A Chicago-born prodigy, his career has spanned the realms of orchestral involvement, solo piano performance, and conducting in a variety of ensembles. He is a popular guest conductor, master teacher and chamber player.

Covelli is also the founding conductor of the Belleayre Festival Orchestra and conductor laureate of the Binghamton Philharmonic. He is music director of both A Company for Chamber Orchestra and A Company for Chamber Opera, and artistic director of Kaleidoscope Concert Productions. Additionally, he is conductor and music director of the International Repertory Orchestra and the curator of classical music at the Goodwill Theatre, Inc., in Greater Binghamton. For more information on Covelli, visit www.johncovelli.com.

PUC's Fine Arts Series invites the Napa Valley community to share in culturally rich musical experiences featuring outstanding soloists and chamber ensembles—some of the best and brightest of the musical world with repertoire that enrich, entice, excite and entertain.

Both concerts are presented free of charge; however donations are accepted. For more information, call the PUC Music Department at 707-965-6201.