On Saturday, March 22, talented musicians of classical composition captured the hearts of music lovers on FAU’s Davie campus with their premiere of Adolphe von Henselt’s “Piano Trio in A minor, Op. 24.” For a mere $15 a seat, spectators listened to the classical team of three for almost two hours in the Language Arts auditorium.
The talented husband-and-wife team from the Miami String Quartet, cello player Keith Meng Robinson and violinist Kathy Meng Robinson, took their seats behind Judith Burganger and her piano. The auditorium was filled with 250 retired folks and perhaps half-a-dozen college students earning credit for class. Davie performance hall, without tiles put in, is perhaps the one of the best small auditoriums in all of Florida, thanks to the room’s acoustics.
“This Davie hall is much better than Boca’s. Boca may be bigger, but it’s more for lectures than concerts. In the early ’80s, I created the FAU Chamber Solos degree program in Boca Raton, which is still around,” Burganger admitted with pride.
For 20 years, Burganger has been a devoted professor at FAU and has developed several degree programs for piano performance, chamber music presentations and piano pedagogy within the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters on the Davie campus. Founder and artistic director of the FAU Chamber Soloists, Burganger began her musical career with piano recitals at the age of six in New York. She performed with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, and won First Prize in the national Merriweather Post Competition at the age of 17. She later studied in Europe, and was the first American ever to win first prize in the International Piano Competition in Cologne. Aside from conquering Carnegie Hall, Burganger has toured the globe, performing in the world’s most prestigious music conservatories throughout Europe, Japan and, most recently, The People’s Republic of China. Currently residing in South Florida as a devoted music teacher, she has collaborated with illustrious chamber ensembles such as the Miami String Quartets among others.
“The artists each complimented each other wonderfully. It sounded more like an orchestra than three musicians on a small stage,” said Shana Levine, a 21-year-old elementary education major.
Cathy Meng Robinson and her violin have performed worldwide as part of the Miami String Quartet. Her husband, Keith, behind the cello, is actually a founding member of the quartet. He is a professional musician, recitalist and soloist who has performed nation-wide and is currently a faculty member of Florida International University. “We have been playing at FAU once a year for 10 years. This year, we are actually performing three times. Today was great – we love playing with Judith. We even got to play two new pieces tonight, which was extremely exciting,” said Keith.
“I honestly enjoyed the music much more than I would have ever expected. I was in awe watching the violins play. It was unbelievable to my ears,” said Kathy Bowin, a 32-year-old elementary education student. “However there was one thing I didn’t understand – when to clap when not to clap when the musicians finished each song. There was always an uncomfortable silence between sets.”
“I come to see the free music recital every year,” said audience member Sylvia Goldman of Sunrise. “Today’s Piano Trio performance was equally as fantastic, if not better, than any of the amazing musical performances put on before at FAU.”
“It’s definitely something I wouldn’t have done on a Saturday afternoon, but I attended for the music class required for my major, elementary education,” said Stacey Golfand, a 21-year-old. “It’s wasn’t as bad as I expected. In fact, I found the FAU Chamber Soloists to be quite elegant.”
