MELODIES FOR MANY OCCASIONS
CON FUOCO DUO
ROBERT WALZEL | CLARINETTO
Professor of Music at the University of Kansas, Robert Walzel previously served as the founding dean of the KU School of Music from 2010-2022. Performing extensively in essentially all mediums featuring clarinet and saxophone, he is hailed by critics as a “remarkable clarinet virtuoso” possessing “great finesse” and “effortless technique.” Walzel has performed in 30 countries and presented master classes and lectures at several of the world’s leading music schools. He is featured on multiple recording labels including Albany, Navona, Con Fuoco Digital, and Mark Records. For eleven years Walzel served on the faculty at Texas Tech University and as Principal Clarinetist of the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra. Previous administrative leadership positions include those at Sam Houston State University in Texas and at the University of Utah. A Past President of the International Clarinet Association, he also served two full terms on the Commission on Accreditation for the National Association of Schools of Music. Walzel is a graduate of the University of Houston and holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of North Texas.
STEVEN MICHAEL GLASER | PIANOFORTE
Steven Michael Glaser has concertized widely in the United States including acclaimed debut recitals in Orchestra Hall (Chicago) on the prestigious Allied Arts Series, Merkin Concert Hall (New York City), and abroad in Canada, Mexico, Europe, Israel, New Zealand and East Asia. He has performed in Poland including concerts with the Lodz and Poznan Philharmonic Orchestras, recitals as solo artist sponsored by the United States Information Agency, and for the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw commemorating the joint birthdays of Frederic Chopin and George Washington. In the Far East, he has toured throughout Taiwan and China performing solo recitals and teaching master classes, including a recital in Beijing at the invitation of the U. S. Ambassador to China. He has traveled to New Zealand for recitals and master classes in Auckland, Wellington and Hamilton; and performed and taught as guest artist at the Corfu (Greece) International Music Festival; the Beethoven Festival in Jerusalem (Israel), and festivals in the United States. The winner of such prestigious piano competitions as the New York Chopin International Competition and the Society of American Musicians Competition, Glaser also received First Prize in the Liederkranz Foundation Competition which included an appearance in Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall as well as solo and orchestral engagements. A graduate of the Juilliard School and the University of Michigan, Glaser is a professor of piano at The Ohio State University School of Music and is a member of the Melton Center for Jewish Studies at Ohio State. He has served as visiting professor of piano at the Buchman-Mehta School of Music at Tel-Aviv University (Israel) and at Capital University (Columbus, Ohio).