About Sin-Hsing Tsai
Sin-Hsing Tsai’s piano career took off at age 8 when she was admitted to the prestigious government program for musically talented children in her hometown of Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Two years later she was named one of the Top 10 music students in her country.Her music was heard by audiences in Asia, Europe, North and South America. As a concert pianist, she was in demand from the Darius Milhaud Festival in Buenos Aires to the Patten Performances at UTC. Her resumé included world premieres of contemporary compositions, and she worked with composers in Taiwan, Russia, Germany, England, France, Cuba, Argentina and the U.S.
Sin-Hsing TsaiFor six years, Dr. Sin-Hsing Tsai organized a piano arts festival on the campus of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga designed to educate and encourage young, talented pianists.
Even while undergoing treatment for cancer last year, the concert pianist and music professor was planning her seventh festival, which the UTC Music Department will present in her memory Friday-Sunday, March 3-5. Tsai lost her life to cancer in November at age 45.
So in addition to the master class and performance opportunities Tsai’s music festivals offered, this weekend will include an additional feature. A benefit concert in Tsai’s memory will be presented Saturday night in the UTC Fine Arts Building to raise funds for the UTC piano program.
The concert will feature guest artist Chih-Long Hu, a friend and colleague of Tsai’s, who is on the faculty of the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. According to Dr. Sigrid Luther, festival coordinator, Hu would visit Tsai in the California hospital where she underwent cancer treatment. To lift her spirits, the two would often play duets on the keyboard she kept in her hospital room.