Professor duo to perform favorite music selections at Carnegie Hall

Carnegie Hall is a thrilling venue to play at, Jesus Castro-Balbi said.

The Lin/Castro-Balbi Duo, made up of professors Castro-Balbi and Gloria Lin, plans to play at Carnegie Hall at 2 p.m. on March 25.

“We have played all over the world since 1996, yet playing in Carnegie is really a high point in every artist’s life,” Castro-Balbi, associate professor of cello, said.

The Lin/Castro-Balbi Duo met at Indiana University Bloomington in a chamber music class, Castro-Balbi said. They are now married and work alongside one another in the music department. 

The concert at Carnegie Hall would include Beethoven’s “Seven Variations on Mozart’s Magic Flute,” Shostakovich’s Sonata, Debussy’s Sonate, Piazzolla’s “Le Grand Tango” and Till Meyn’s “Revolutions,” Lin, a music instructor, said.

The piece “Revolutions” was written by colleague Till Meyn specifically for the Lin/Castro-Balbi Duo to play, Castro-Balbi said.

“We are very excited that we are able to play a living composer’s work because that’s what people should be doing instead of doing things from the past,” Lin, who teaches piano, musicology and chamber music, said.

Using music from the past to trace where we are today is good, but people should be experiencing music from today’s era as well, she said.

The concert features music by the piano and cello and offers great variety, style and emotion, Castro-Balbi said.

“This particular program we call ‘Playing Favorites’ because we are playing some of our favorite selections,” Castro-Balbi said.

The event was planned a year in advance, Lin said. The program is made up of music that the duo can relate to and includes different styles and cultures.

“I’m very excited to be active and able to do what I am good at and what I enjoy,” Lin said. 

The variety of pieces would interest a wide range of people, Lin said.

“We are all different, and some things speak to different people. We are trying to include pieces that have as many different styles and sounds,” she said.

The chance for the Lin/Castro-Balbi Duo to play at Carnegie Hall is a significant event for the School of Music and the university as a whole, Castro-Balbi said.

“We are very excited to represent TCU in New York City, and we want to do the best we can so that TCU will be well represented,” he said.