Friday Music Series: Francesca Hurst, piano

• Francesca Hurst, piano

Jennifer Margaret Barker — Selected works
Faina Lushtak — Selected works
Caroline Shaw — Gustave Le Gray
Frédéric Chopin — Four Mazurkas, Op. 17

Getting there: McNeir Auditorium is located in the New North building. Start from the University's main gates on 37th & O Streets. Head directly into campus between Healy and Copley Halls to the right of the statue of John Carroll. Follow the pathway past the Davis Center around to the left through the tunnel. Take the stairs down one flight immediately to your right as you exit the tunnel.

About Friday Music Concert Series – Georgetown University

The Friday Music Concert Series offers free performances each semester in McNeir Hall (New North Building) every Friday afternoon (12:30pm–1:45 pm) for the university community of students, staff, faculty, and neighbors in the city.

The concerts feature local, national, and international performers offering music from an array of genres, including jazz, classical, opera, country, folk, world, chamber, roots, and traditional, highlighting broad cultural diasporas of art.

The Series is designed as a cornerstone of the undergraduate music curriculum and its focus on American musical culture, connecting to courses concentrating on historical musicology, ethnomusicology, performance, and theory as well as the extensive traditions practiced, created, and innovated in the Metro area and beyond. Guests artists are also featured in the affiliated course "Live Music in Context" and in masterclasses for students enrolled in music ensembles as well as lectures provided to academic courses.

https://performingarts.georgetown.edu/events-and-tickets/friday-music-series/

About Francesca Hurst, piano

Dynamic and engaging, pianist Francesca Hurst delights audiences with a mix of classical and contemporary music. Listeners have described her playing as "moving and compelling" and "powerful yet sensitive." Classically trained, she fell into the new music scene in 2013, when a last-minute gig with Great Noise Ensemble turned into a decade-long engagement as their pianist. At ease with a wide range of repertoire, she makes sense of the music regardless of style and period, is passionate about communicating with audiences, and has a special interest in performing music by women.

As a new music pianist, Francesca has appeared as a solo and collaborative guest artist at festivals like the Atlantic Music Festival, New Music Delaware, New Music Gathering, Charlotte New Music Festival, and the Bang on a Can Music Marathon. Equally versatile in the classical repertoire, she has played in such venues as the Kennedy Center, the National Gallery of Art, and the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, DC, and internationally in Bulgaria, Italy, Portugal, and France. During the pandemic, she created the 100-day online video series Daily Dose of Piano, which featured music from the Baroque to today, including 14 premieres. She was recently named to the Performing Artist Touring Roster of the Virginia Commission for the Arts, and just recorded her debut album of women composers, which will be released in early 2024.

Francesca is on the piano faculty at The Catholic University of America and the University of Virginia, and maintains a thriving private piano studio in Northern Virginia. She is an MTNA Nationally Certified Teacher of Music and holds a DMA in Piano Performance.

https://www.francescahurst.com