Riner and Han to Present UW Faculty Recital ‘American Portraits’ Oct. 16

"American Portraits" is the next University of Wyoming Department of Music Faculty Recital Series program at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 16, in the Buchanan Center for the Performing Arts recital hall. The free public performance will feature UW faculty members Nicole Riner, flute, and Jiwon Han, piano.

Just as America itself weaves together so many diverse people and their cultures, the latest recital program explores works by a diverse array of American composers. Aaron Copland's "Duo for Flute and Piano" is a sweeping collection of American landscapes. Eldin Burton's "Sonatine" won the 1948 New York Flute Club contest. Both works model traits typical of mid-20th century American music.

Other works will include Katherine Hoover's "To Greet the Sun," which imagines Native people of the American West performing rituals, from dawn prayers to dances and ceremonies, celebrating the sun's inspiring power. Nicole Chamberlain's "Three-Nine Line" derives the title and each of the four movements from aviator slang she learned from her father, a U.S. Air Force pilot who served in the Vietnam War.

Indian American composer and rising star Reena Esmail's "Pathways of Desire" is named for the architectural term for an unplanned trail that has been eroded into the ground through repeated use. The solo piece, commissioned by the Flute New Music Consortium -- of which Riner is a member -- will make its world premiere during the recital.

Riner maintains an active national presence as a recitalist and pedagogue. She has presented master classes at universities and conservatories across the country and has performed with orchestras and at music festivals in the U.S., South America and Europe.

A champion of new music, Riner also has commissioned and premiered numerous works as a soloist and chamber musician. In 2016, she joined the board of Flute New Music Consortium, a commissioning organization for flutists, serving as the organization's president in 2022. Riner currently teaches flute and entrepreneurship classes at UW, where she also oversees the arts entrepreneurship certificate program.

Han, UW staff collaborative pianist, is a South Korea-born pianist. He first gained attention in 1997 at age 10, when he appeared as a soloist with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra performing Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major, K.488. The same year, he gave a solo recital at Incheon Culture and Arts Center.

Han performs as a chamber musician, orchestral pianist and collaborative pianist, and he teaches and conducts regularly. He has released two solo albums: "Debut" and "Romanticism." Additionally, he has released two collaborative albums: "Bach-Schubert," a live performance with violinist Zia Shin, and "Works by German Composers" with violinist Fangting Chen.

For more information, call Kathy Kirkaldie, UW Fine Arts coordinator, at (307) 766-2160 or email [email protected].