OXFORD, Miss. – Tired of giving flowers and candy on the
most romantic day of the year? Then consider a gift of
music for Valentine’s Day.
Join Dena Kay Jones, a classical pianist who specializes in
20th-century Spanish piano music, in concert at 8 p.m. Feb.
14 in Nutt Auditorium at the University of Mississippi.
Tickets at $12 for general admission and $8 for students
are available by calling the UM Box Office at 662-915-7411
or visiting the box office in the Student Union.
The show’s coordinator Ian Hominick, associate professor of
music, said Jones is the perfect artist to perform on
Valentine’s Day.
“I know she has an affinity for Spanish music and she is a
wonderfully gifted pianist – very passionate about
music-making,” Hominick said.
Jones has performed as a soloist and chamber musician
throughout the United States and in Spain, Mexico and
Canada. Solo performances include recitals at El Centro
Municipal de Las Artes in Juarez, Mexico, the
Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music Concert Series (Canada)
and the For the Love of Music Series in Bisbee (Arizona).
She has also performed for world-renowned pianists Emanuel
Ax and Peter Serkin at the 1998 Tanglewood Auditions in New
York, Leon Fleisher at the 1999 Aspen Summer Music Festival
and Russell Shermann at the 2000 Summer Courses in
Santander, Spain.
Besides maintaining a widely varied repertoire of standard
piano literature, Jones has focused her energies in
performance and research on the Spanish piano repertoire.
In particular, her interest led her to focus on
lesser-known Spanish piano works written from 1900 to 1950.
Her recitals feature the colorful works of composers such
as Manuel de Falla, Ernesto Halffter, Isaac Albéniz,
Federico Mompou and Xavier Montsalvage.
Recently Jones was awarded a grant from the Spanish Embassy
in conjunction with U.S. universities for a Spanish music
recording project. Picked up by the classical recording
label Centaur Records, her debut album, “Luces y Sombras
(Lights and Shadow): Select Piano Works by Joaquin
Rodrigo,” was released on CD in October 2007.
A native of the central Illinois, Jones received both
bachelor’s and master’s of music degrees in piano
performance from the University of Illinois. In August
2001, she completed the Doctor of Musical Arts program at
the University of Arizona in Tucson. In 2002, she joined
the music faculty of the University of Texas at El Paso.
For assistance related to a disability, call 662-915-7268.