Pianists perform Sept. 15

---

Courtesy of Media Services

Coming soon — Stephen Varney (r) and Naomi Sanchez (l) will play classical and popular music Sept. 15.

   The piano duo of San Francisco's Stephen Varney and Naomi Sanchez will bring their repertoire of classical and popular music to the University of Arkansas at Monticello Sept. 15 at 7:30 p.m. for a concert in the Fine Arts Center auditorium.

   Varney and Sanchez have been performing together under the name “Pas De Duo” since 2002. In 2005, they won first prize at the National Federation of Music Clubs’ Biennial Ellis Duo-Piano Competition. They also received the Abild American Music Award for their performance of Frederic Rzewski’s “Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues.”

   Pas De Duo has also performed at Carnegie Hall as first place winners of the Bradshaw and Buono International Piano Competition. Varney and Sanchez have served as guest artists and clinicians at the San Francisco Conservatory, Holy Names University and the Suzuki Music Association of California.

   Varney is a graduate of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and holds a master’s degree from Holy Names University in piano pedagogy and choral and orchestral conducting. Currently, he is the conductor of the San Francisco Jewish Folk Chorus and the California Choristers. He is also director of music activities at the Berkeley United Methodist Church, and with Sanchez, the director of founder of the Berkeley Academy of Music.

   Sanchez is a graduate of Indiana University where she received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music and piano performance. She is a member of the musical theater faculty at the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco. In 2003, she performed in the production of “Forever Young: the Music of Bob Dylan” at the Royal National Theatre in London.

Have a comment? Please e-mail us.