Dezheng Ping, violin, and Larissa Korkina, piano will return to St. Michael’s Episcopal Church on Thursday, February 6 for a 12:15 pm recital. This noontime recital is part of a series, entitled Music at St. Michael’s, that takes place in the sanctuary of this historic church located in downtown Trenton at 140 N. Warren St. The performers, who also participated in the first Music at St. Michael’s in April 2019, are faculty members of Westminster Conservatory, the community music school of Westminster College of the Arts of Rider University. The program, which will last approximately 45 minutes, is free of charge, and concertgoers are invited to bring a bag lunch for consumption during the event.
The program on February 6 comprises Johann N. Hummel's Sonata, op. 64 for violin and piano and Edvard Grieg's Sonata No. 3 in C Minor, op. 45 for violin and piano.Dezheng Ping received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Beijing Central Conservatory of Music in China and Master of Arts degree from Minnesota State University, Moorhead. He has been a member of the Syracuse Symphony, the assistant concertmaster of the Augusta Symphony, the concertmaster of the Greater Grand Forks Symphony, and the concertmaster of the Manalapan Battleground Symphony Orchestra. As a soloist he has performed Mozart’s Concerto in A Major with the China Central Philharmonic in Beijing Concert Hall, the Chinese violin concerto Butterfly Lover with the Hunan Symphony Orchestra of China, and the Concerto in G minor for violin and orchestra by Max Bruch with the Manalapan Symphony Orchestra. He was invited by the Northern California Chinese Music Teachers Association to give violin master classes, has served as a judge for the International Music Competition at Stanford University Music Centre, gave a violin master class at the International String Festival in Yunnan China, and has lectured at Baruch College, City University of New York, to introduce Chinese music.
Moscow native Larissa Korkina received a Master of Music Degree from the State Academy of Music, where she later joined the teaching faculty. At the Academy she studied with Valery Minenkov and Grigory Shershevsky. While in Russia she also received awards as the best accompanist in regional competitions.
Since moving to Princeton in 1990 Ms. Korkina has pursued a successful career as a solo recitalist, chamber musician, and coach/accompanist. She has performed in venues such as the Garden State Center, McCarter Theater, and Richardson Auditorium, and on series including the Matinee Musical Club at the Philadelphia Academy of Music, Westminster Conservatory Faculty Series, the Friends of Music in Princeton University’s Taplin Hall, and Longwood Gardens Concert Series. She has collaborated with many opera singers in recitals and opera productions, including Perry Ward, Marina Guleghina of the Metropolitan Opera, Hanli Stapela, and Karen Clark.
Ms. Korkina is on the piano faculties of Westminster Conservatory and the Lawrenceville School and maintains a private studio in Princeton. Ms. Korkina is a recipient of the Genia Robinor Pedagogy Award and the Distinguished Pedagogy Award from the Cecilian Music Club. Her students have received awards from the Piano Teachers Society of America, the Music Teachers National Association, the Steinway Society, Cecilian Competition, the Westminster Concerto Competition, and the Fine Arts Festival, among others.
In 2007 Ms. Korkina established the Dr. Hannah Korkina Memorial Scholarship Fund in memory of her mother. Winners of Korkina Scholarships are selected for performances displaying exceptional imagination, personality, and having the greatest emotional impact on the audience.
The next Music at St. Michael’s recital will take place at 12:15 p.m. on Thursday, April 2.