Dr. Hao Huang, internationally acclaimed pianist, will give a concert, “American Syncopations – More than Jazz,” on Friday, February 27, at 12:15 p.m. in Balch Auditorium, Scripps College campus. Sponsored through the Friday Noon Concert Series, this performance featuring the works of Ira Gershwin, Scott Joplin, and Jelly Roll Morton, among others, is free and open to the public.
The scheduled program will include: “Le Bamboula” by Louis Moreau Gottschalk, based on African dances performed at Place du Congo in antebellum New Orleans; the ragtime gems “Elite Syncopations” and “Magnetic Rag” by Scott Joplin; the “King Porter Stomp” by the self-proclaimed inventor of jazz Ferdinand “Jelly Roll” Morton; the marvelous “Carolina Shout” by great Harlem stride pianist James P. Johnson; songs by Gershwin, “Fats” Waller and Duke Ellington; and spare yet expressive piano pieces by Thelonious Monk.
In addition to his extensive performance career, Dr. Huang currently serves as associate professor of music at Scripps College.