Chenny Gan will present a piano concert on Sunday, September 9 at 3 p.m., at Holy Cross Episcopal Church in Tryon.

Her performance is the beginning of a 16-month celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Foothills Music Club. This concert event will honor the music club’s founder, Lesley Oakes, and is a benefit to raise money for the club’s scholarship fund. Over the years, scholarships totaling more than $36,000 have been awarded to young musicians in Polk and Rutherford Counties, Landrum, and the surrounding area. Admission to the concert is $10 for adults and $5 for students, payable at the door.
Gan, celebrated for her virtuosity and adventurous playing, regularly appears in performance and teaching engagements on three continents, including cities in China, Canada, Austria, Germany and the United States. She was born in the city of Nanning in Guangxi Province, China, and immigrated to the United States at the age of 8. She graduated with double bachelor’s degrees in music and studio art, from Wesleyan College, Macon, Ga. and then went on to complete two masters of music degrees at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro — one in piano performance and the other in piano accompanying. In 2009 she was awarded the doctor of musical arts in piano performance from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.
Currently, Dr. Gan travels frequently between Germany, China and the U.S., choosing to make Trostberg, Germany, her permanent home, which she shares with her husband. As a musician and artist, Gan strives to explore new territories in all areas of performing, intensely focused on making the concert experience more enlightening and interactive for the audience. She loves to collaborate with other musicians in various styles and genres of music, including jazz, free improvisation, classical, and pop, often performing music in unlikely settings and combinations. Her work mentoring young musicians has brought success in places as diverse as the inner city neighborhoods of Los Angeles to New York’s Carnegie Hall and the Mozarteum Conservatory in Salzburg.
– article submitted by Foothills Music Club