As part of their spring tour, the Ananta Duo of clarinetist Dr. Cecilia Kang and pianist Dr. Ana Maria Otamendi will perform at Tyler Junior College.
The concert will be held 7:30 p.m. Monday, March 5, in Jean Browne Theatre on the TJC main campus. Admission is free, and the public is invited to attend.
The Ananta Duo was co-founded by Kang and Otamendi. The word “ananta” means “infinite” in Sanskrit, and the duo is committed to exploring eclectic music beyond borders to promote classical music and address contemporary social issues.
Their repertoire includes standard pieces for clarinet and piano such as sonatas by Brahms, music from Latin America, Asia and North America, as well as works by living composers.
In addition to TJC, the Ananta Duo will perform this season at Louisiana State University, Tulane University, Converse College, Furman University, the University of South Carolina, Baylor University, River Bluff High School and Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas, as well as the Clarinet Colloquium hosted at Texas A&M University.
Kang serves as assistant professor of clarinet at Furman University in South Carolina, and Otamendi is assistant professor of collaborative piano at Louisiana State University.
Kang has performed at festivals around the world, including Thy Chamber Music Festival in Denmark, IMPULS Contemporary Music Festival in Austria, Grumo Music Festival in Italy, and Castleton Music Festival in the U.S. She earned degrees from the University of Michigan, the University of Southern California, and the University of Toronto.
Since her orchestral debut at age 12, Otamendi has won first prize at all the major Venezuelan piano competitions, as well as the USC Concerto Competition and the Ouro Branco Festival Competition in Brazil. She has performed as soloist, conductor and collaborative pianist at important venues and with renowned orchestras in Austria, Panama, Brazil, the United States, Spain, Italy and Venezuela. In addition to the Ananta Duo, she is also co-founder of the Reverón Piano Trio and the Aelia Piano Duo.
Otamendi is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin and the University of South Carolina. She has a Doctorate in Collaborative Piano from the University of Michigan.
Besides her musical training, she is fluent in English, Spanish, French and Italian, and is also a geophysical engineer. Her thesis was published in the prestigious journal, “Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors.”
For more on TJC cultural arts events, go to www.tjc.edu/PerformingArts.