Piano duo to perform

Joshua Vogel, an Orange City native and 2005 Northwestern College alumnus, and Dr. Shiho Saito will perform on duo pianos Sunday, Feb. 20, at 3 p.m. in Northwestern's Christ Chapel.

The concert/talk is sponsored by the Orange City Arts Council and the Northwestern music department.

Vogel and Saito, both faculty members at Fox River Academy of Music and Arts in the Chicago area, will tour Japan with their piano concert/lecture March 9-26.

Vogel began playing piano at age nine and studied under Brian Lee, MaryLou Wielenga and Juyeon Kang at Northwestern. He was the winner of the Granquist Piano Competition in 2010 and the Harold McGilvra Piano Scholarship Competition in 2002-03. He has performed in numerous piano competitions and is currently a freelance pianist in Illinois and Iowa. He is principal pianist and choir director of the Platteville United Methodist Church.

Saito holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in piano performance from Michigan State University. She has received numerous honors, including the Cleveland Music Arts Society Scholarship and the Dr. Benno Lee graduation award from the City University of New York. She has performed in concert halls across North America and Japan, and previously taught at Baldwin-Wallace College, Amati Conservatory, Michigan State University and the Manhattan School of Music summer program.

The concert will feature Vogel and Saito on two pianos, performing the Harpsichord Concerto in G minor, BWV 1058 by J.S. Bach, Rhapsody in Blue by Gershwin, and Liszt's Totentanz, S.126 and Les préludes, S. 97. The pianists will talk briefly about the style differences between Bach and Gershwin and  discuss Liszt's life and composition, in honor of his birthday 200 years ago.

There will be no admission charge. Donations will be received to assist with the musicians' travel expenses.