Dr. Lucy Tan

She grew up in many different places but spent most of her early life in the Boston area. She received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in piano performance from the New England Conservatory and was awarded the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in piano performance from the University of Colorado Boulder.

Her performances outside of the U.S. have taken her to the far east as well as Europe, and she has performed at music festivals like the Bowdoin International Music Festival and the Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival. She has also won awards and honors at events such as the Bruce Ekstrand Memorial Competition, the Chiang Wen Yeh International Piano Competition and many others. As for her personal interests aside from music, few people know that Dr. Tan really enjoys art and creative writing. She used to regularly paint, draw and enter poetry competitions before her undergraduate studies. In fact, some of her poems were even published in national anthologies. Outside of Panhandle, Dr. Tan is also a private piano teacher and a church musician.

Dr. Tan is now the Staff Pianist and Instructor of Piano and Music Theory here at Panhandle. When asked about what brought her to Panhandle, Tan said that she applied out of interest and greatly enjoyed her first interview with the music faculty. The faculty really enjoyed the interview too; very soon after, they contacted Dr. Tan, telling her that she was perfect for Panhandle and they would love to have her here. She accepted the job because she wanted to be part of a university that valued her skills. She was also excited to be able to have one-on-one interaction with students and really get to know them.

Dr. Tan told The Collegian that her favorite thing about Panhandle is the peace and quiet of the campus: “I feel relaxed here. Since I’ve spent a lot of my life in Boston, I’m accustomed to a fast-paced life and I’ve never had a chance to really appreciate the things around me. This environment is good for me; I have more peace and quiet for moments of introspection and thought.”

This year, Dr. Tan will have both solo and collaborative performances in Boston, Texas, Colorado, and Oklahoma. If anyone in the area would like to see Dr. Tan’s wonderful talent in action, she will be having two recitals here on campus at Centennial Theatre, both of which are free to attend. This Saturday, March 10th at 7 p.m., she will perform a solo recital of works by Chopin, Schumann, and Ravel. On Saturday, April 21st at 7 p.m., she will be featured in a collaborative performance titled, “Celebrating 100 years of Leonard Bernstein: an American Musical Legend.” This will feature Brandon Brady, an Instructor of Music at Panhandle, Theresa Royse, a Panhandle graduate, Dr. Diego Caetano from Amarillo College, and Yun Jung Lee from Eastman School of Music in New York. Alongside these artist, Dr. Tan will be performing some of Bernstein’s most famous music, including popular tunes from theatrical works such as “West Side Story” and “Candide.” This event is sponsored by the Masonic endowment for Cultural Enrichment Grant, for which Dr. Tan would like to show her gratitude. I would highly encourage everyone to attend these recitals, and Dr. Tan would appreciate the support!