Piano Concert Starts Kent State Salem’s Symphonious Sunday Series Jaramillo, Chaves-Hernandez and Aguilar play Bach, Berg, Beethoven, Liszt and Schumann.

On Sunday, Oct. 17, Kent State University at Salem starts its Symphonious Sunday Series with some of Kent State University’s best international pianists playing Bach, Berg, Beethoven, Liszt and Schumann. The Sunday afternoon concert will start at 3 p.m. in the Kent State City Center’s 2nd floor auditorium, which is located at 230 North Lincoln Ave. in Salem. The concert is free.

Junior David Jaramillo, who hails from Ecuador, will begin the performance with Bach’s Partita No. 1 in B-flat major, followed by Berg’s Sonata, Op. 1. Jaramillo studied in Quito, Ecuador at the “Conservatorio Franz Liszt” where he earned the equivalent of a High School Diploma in Arts.  He has performed in major concert halls of Ecuador in several recitals as solo pianist. Jarmaillo has participated in piano competitions, resulting in first prizes in XII Concurso the Musica Latinoamericana para estudiantes de Piano (2001) and Primer Concurso Nacional de Piano Quito, Ecuador (2003).

In 2007, he made his debut with the National Symphony Orchestra from Ecuador, with Grieg’s Piano Concerto.  That same year, he performed at the Rhineberger Hall of Severance Hall in Cleveland, Ohio, during a Gala Concert of the Piano Institute at Kent State.  He is the recipient Kent State University’s Joe Walsh Scholarship.

Following Jaramillo, 20 year old Costa Rican pianist Sofia Chaves-Hernandez will play Beethoven and Liszt. Chaves-Hernandez began her music studies at the age of six in Costa Rica’s National University.  At 13, she entered the Institute of the Arts where she studied under Dr. Alexandr Sklioutovsky until the summer of 2007.   She is the winner of many awards, including first prize in the 2005 Intermediate Concerto Competition at Interlochen Music Center; 2006 Bradshaw and Buono International Piano Competition; 2007 Wood Piano Competition at Brevard Music Center.  As a result, she has performed in New York’s Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, North Carolina’s Whittington-Pfohl Auditorium, Michigan’s Kresge Auditorium as a soloist with the Interlochen Intermediate Division Symphony Orchestra.  Chaves-Hernandez is currently a senior scholarship student at Kent State University. 

Franklin Aguilar will finish the concert with Schumann’s Faschhingsschwank aus Wien, op. 26. Costa Rica native Aguilar formally began his studies in 2000 with private lessons from Daniel Castro. In 2002 he was accepted to the Superior Institute of Arts in Costa Rica and in 2003 he began studies with some of the country’s best scholars. He obtained his bachelor degree in Piano Performane from the National University of Costa in 2007. Aguilar was invited by the National Theatre to perform a solo recital in its Piano Concert Series Season in 2008.  He has performed concerts in all the main concert halls of Costa Rica.

Aguilar has won numerous awards including the top prize at the 2005 National Young Soloists competition of the National Orchestra of Costa Rica, which resulted in a performance of Franz Liszt Concerto no. 2 in A Major at the National Theatre.  He was also a scholarship recipient at Michigan’s Interlochen Arts Camp in 2004. 

Currently, Aguilar is pursuing his Masters of Music degree at Kent State University as a recipient of a Graduate Assistantship award.  He, along with the other two, study under the direction of Kent State University’s Dr. Donna Lee.

Additional concerts include a Jazz Concert Nov. 7 and a Holiday Concert Dec. 19. All performances are held in the second floor auditorium of the Kent State Salem City Center, which is located at 230 North Lincoln Ave. in Salem. All concerts are free, open to the public and begin at 3 p.m. Handicap parking may be found behind the building. For more information, please call Mary Jones at 330-337-4246.