Portland State Magazine Fall 2007

Karl Rohde, a piano performance student, practices with professor Susan Chan. Retirement homes and hospitals are regular venues for Chan and her students. Generous performer Susan Chan brings a unique approach to performing and teaching. REACHING INTO a Steinway to pluck its strings with her right hand while playing the keys with her left, pianist Susan Chan creates a series of overtones chat evoke a time-forsaken landscape. The exotic sounds punctuate a piece ti cled "Memories in an Ancient Garden," written by Chinese-Canadian composer Alexina Louie. le seems like minutes before the cluster of tones subsides and the concert audience erupts in applause. The crowd's emotional response speaks volumes of Chan's artistry. A native of Hong Kong, she has an innate way of expressing the sounds of her homeland. Chan performed Louie's piece in September during her second appear– ance at Carnegie Hall. "I didn't grow up playing Chinese music," says Chan in her elegant, Hong Kong-schooled English accent. "I didn't Like it for a long time. But now that I'm older, I look back on my roots, and I'm very interested in presenting music from my homeland. A 43-year-old assistant professor of music, Chan brings a love of performing and teaching to Lincoln Hall-demon– strating both with a personal approach chat sets her apart. Her melodic repertoire of modern Asian composers such as Louie and Ning-Chi Chen is not often performed in the United States. Audiences appear surprised and delighted by her choice. Another rare treat is the full-screen slides chat accompany her performances of Bach and Chopin. She pairs Chopin's "24 Preludes" with French impression– istic art and Bach's "Chaconne" with famous religious paintings. Chan's repertoire can be heard on her CD, East West Encounter, and during her performances as a soloist with such orchestras as the Porcland Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Hong Kong Chamber Orchestra, Hong Kong Sinfo– nietta, and the Bloomington Symphony Orchestra in Indiana. CHAN IS A NATURAL musician who grew up with music in the house. Her mother was an accomplished singer who gave music lessons. Neither her mother nor her father, a psychology professor, pressured Chan to excel at piano; she simply fell in love with it. She earned degrees in music from the University of Hong Kong. While there, she sought career advice from British composer and performer Nicholas Routley. He suggested she combine her love for performance with a career in teaching. "Ir appeals to me to work with students and try to affect their lives in a positive way," says Chan. "I love the balance of teaching and performing, although both can really consume you." Since coming to the United States in 1988, Chan has done postgraduate work at Yale University and earned a doctor– ate in piano pedagogy at the acclaimed Indiana University School ofMusic. FALL 2007 PORTLAND STATE MAGAZINE 9