Transgender pianist to visit campus for evening of conversation and music Feb. 19

February 15, 2019 | Arts, Events, News, UToday, Arts and Letters
By Angela Riddel



Pianist Sara Davis Buechner is coming to town to perform with the Toledo Symphony Orchestra Friday and Saturday, Feb. 22 and 23. Before that, she will stop at the UT Center for Performing Arts Recital Hall to chat with students, faculty and community fans Tuesday, Feb. 19, at 7 p.m.

At this event — co-sponsored by the UT Department of Music, the UT Department of Women’s and Gender Studies, and the Toledo Symphony Orchestra — Buechner will share her experiences as a musician and the inspiring story of how her gender transformation impacted her career. A Steinway also will be on hand in case she feels moved to give a concert preview.

Buechner

Buechner also will present a master class for students Tuesday, Feb. 19, at 3 p.m., in the Center for Performing Arts Recital Hall.

Admission to the talk and the master class is free.

Noted for her musical command, cosmopolitan artistry and visionary independence, Buechner is lauded for her “intelligence, integrity and all-encompassing technical prowess” (The New York Times), “thoughtful artistry in the full service of music” (The Washington Post), and “astounding virtuosity” (The Philippine Star). Japan’s InTune Magazine summed up: “Buechner has no superior.”

Buechner has performed in every state and province of North America — as recitalist, chamber musician and soloist with top orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony and Philadelphia Orchestra; and in venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center and the Hollywood Bowl. She has toured throughout Latin and South America and Europe; and she has a special following in Asia, where she has been a featured soloist with the Sydney Symphony, New Zealand Philharmonic, New Japan Philharmonic and Shanghai Philharmonic, among others.

Buechner has released numerous acclaimed recordings of rare piano music by composers such as Rudolf Friml (“a revelation” — The New York Times), Dana Suesse, Joseph Lamb, Joaquín Turina, Miklós Rózsa and Ferruccio Busoni. Stereophile magazine selected her Gershwin CD as Recording of the Month, and her interpretation of Hollywood piano concertos won Germany’s coveted Deutsches Schauplatten Preis. Most recently, her recorded traversal of the score to Carl Dreiser’s 1925 silent movie classic, “Master of the House,” is available on Criterion Collection DVD.

She joined the faculty of Temple University’s Boyer College of Music and Dance in 2016, after previously teaching at the Manhattan School of Music, New York University and the University of British Columbia. She has presented master classes and workshops at major pedagogic venues worldwide, adjudicated international piano competitions, and is a contributing editor for Dover Publications International.

As a proud transgender woman, Buechner appears as a speaker and performer at LGBTQ events and has contributed interviews and articles about her experience to numerous media outlets worldwide.

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