World renowned Filipino piano artist Cecile Licad will be graciously performing her first solo piano recital in San Francisco on Sunday, 20 May 2007 at 7 pm at the De Young Museum Koret Auditorium at 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden in San Francisco.

            The artistry of Cecile Licad is a blend of daring musical instincts and the superb training of a “musician’s musician.” Her natural talent was honed at the Curtis Institute of Music by three of the greatest performer/pedagogues of our time: Rudolf Serkin, Seymour Lipkin and Mieczyslaw Horszowski. Mis Licad’s large repertoire as an orchestral soloist ranges from acclaimed interpretations of the classical works of Mozart and Beethoven to the Romantic literature of Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Schumann and Rachmaninoff to the 20th century compositions of Debussy, Ravel, Shostakovich, Prokofiev and Bartok.

            Cecile Licad’s engagements for 2006-07 include performances with Buffalo Philharmonic, Waterbury Symphony and Tennessee Philharmonic, and recitals in the U.S. and Europe. She also plays Brahmn’s Piano Quintet with the Guarneri String Quartet.

            Ms. Licad has appeared regularly in North America with orchestras such as the Chicago Symphony, Boston Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, National Symphony, and the orchestras of Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Seattle, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Phoenix and Vancouver. She also has performed extensively throughout Asia and Europe.

            She appeared as soloist in the Steinway Piano Sesquicentennial Celebration at Carnegie Hall, performing six Rachmaninoff songs with tenor Ben Heppner, and has made television appearances with Mstislav Rostropovich.

            Ms. Licad is also recognized as a highly accomplished chamber musician. She has performed regularly with ensembles such as the New York Chamber Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Guarneri Quartet, Takacs Quartet, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and Music from Marlboro.
            Cecile Licad began her piano studies at the age of three with her mother Rosario Licad and later studied with the highly regarded Rosario Picazo. At the age of seven, she made her debut as soloist with the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Philippines. As one of the youngest musicians to receive the prestigious Leventritt Gold Medal in 1981, Ms. Licad won immediate international recognition.

            Proceeds of this event will benefit the Philippine Youth Symphonic Band under the Young Musicians Development Organization, a non-profit organization which supports musicians in the Philippines.

            Tickets for the Licad’s piano recital are priced at $100, $75, and $50. For reservations please call Sandra Meily at 510.734.7329, Henry Torres at 510.724.5972 or Tony Castro at 650.714.1278.