Canadian violinist Jessica Tong and pianist Michael Sheppard will be hosting a joint masterclass on Monday, September 19 at 11:50 a.m. in Guzzetta Recital Hall.

Tong has garnered international acclaim, having been a top prizewinner at the Eckhardt-Gramatté Competition, the Toronto Symphony, Canadian Music and Yellow Springs International Chamber Music Competitions. She has previously served as first violinist of both Vinca and Larchmere String Quartets, and is currently the Violin Professor at the State University of New York at Fredonia and Chamber Music Director of the Composers Conference at Brandeis University.

Sheppard was the winner of the prestigious American Pianists Association Classical Fellow Award– a designation that led to the release of a critically acclaimed solo recording by Harmonia Mundi in 2007. He gives masterclasses, teaches regularly and plays with some of the top singers and instrumentalists around the US, working at both the Peabody Institute of Music and the Baltimore School for the Arts, sharing his love and understanding of music and the artistic process with future generations.

The masterclass is free and open to the public.  For more information, contact 330-972-8301 or concerts@uakron.edu.