Marshall Miles Interviews Sophia Zhou, Pianist and Director of the Chamber Music Concert Series

The Chamber Music Series at The Stissing Center was born in early 2020 with the Mission of bringing world-class music making to the local community and promoting young professional musicians. The Director of the Series is concert pianist Sophia (Shuhui) Zhou, who was finishing up a Post-Graduate Fellowship at the Bard College Conservatory of Music when the pandemic hit.   (CLICK HERE for the complete bio) 

Sophia Zhou (photo credit:  J Henry Fair)

The sensational acoustics and the unique post-industrial design of the Stissing Center in Pine Plains made a perfect home for the Series. When the pandemic made every performance venue shut their doors, The Series decided to produce 4 high-quality digital concerts in the house, to be streamed free to subscribers and the public alike.  7 extraordinary musicians at different stages of their careers graced the stage of TSC, and offered their first performances since the global lockdown. They were very emotional experiences at the time of massive cancellations and uncertainties. The Stissing Center was one of the very first venues in the TriState area to sponsor and stream high-quality audio/visual concerts online- a torchlight for a form widely used by most arts organizations nowadays.  The concert videos are available for view here:  https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXUfY94AdkOWwQov5js4i2PEaJAuiMT57

2021 Season Schedule

• September 19 at 4 p.m. :  Carnegie Ensemble Connect Young Musicians: American violinist Stephanie Zyzak, Swiss clarinet player Yasmina Spiegelberg and Chinese Pianist Sophia (Shuhui) Zhou play a kaleidoscopic repertoire for violin, clarinet and piano, inspired by dance music across 300 years in different cultures

• October 3 at 4 p.m. :  Israeli pianist, Bard Newest Faculty Member  Shai Wosner plays Beethoven’s epic Diabelli Variations