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The Longwood University Chamber Music Series will present a concert by pianist Paul-André Bempechat on Sunday, Oct. 29. Free and open to the public, the concert will take place in the Molnar Recital Hall of Wygal Music Building at 4 p.m., with doors open at 3:40 p.m. Parking for the event is available along Race Street, beside Greenwood Library and Bedford Hall.

Renowned for his interpretations of the classic Viennese masters, as well as Schumann and Chopin, Franco-Canadian pianist Paul-André Bempechat is a self-styled, eclectic product of the Manhattan School of Music and the Juilliard School, where he worked with legendary teachers, including Artur Balsam and Nadia Reisenberg. He currently teaches at Harvard University in Boston.

Decorated as Chevalier of Arts and Letters by the French Ministry of Culture, Bempechat has toured in virtually every country in Europe, with performances in Berlin, London, Stockholm, Rotterdam, Vienna, and Belgrade, among others. He has visited Farmville in the past, as a participant in the Hampden-Sydney Chamber Music Festival.

The concert at Longwood will feature the music of Ludwig van Beethoven, stemming from an upcoming recording project for Bempechat. It will combine two well-known sonatas, the Waldstein and the Appassionata, with shorter, lesser-known sonatas, Opus 54 in F Major and Opus 90 in E Minor. The program is presented in recognition of longtime Longwood patroness, Martha Dorrill. The first lady of Longwood College during the 1990s, Mrs. Dorrill remains active in musical circles in Farmville as a piano teacher and performer.

Now in its 36th season, The Longwood University Chamber Music Series is underwritten by the University Arts Council as well as patronage though the Longwood University Foundation. For more information about this concert, access, or to become a Series Patron please call the Longwood University Department of Music at 434-395-2504.