Music department presents Meet the Artist Recital Jan. 25 The Music Department presents a Meet the Artist Recital at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 25, in the Josepine Campbell Recital Hall, Hughes Fine Arts Center. Tickets are available at the door. Adults, $15, students and senior citizens, $10. Proceeds will benefit the UND piano students. Ralph Votapek's early triumphs as winner of the prestigious Naumburg Award and Gold Medalist in the first Van Cliburn International Piano Competition were an auspicious prelude to an even more remarkable career. Featured 16 times as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s guest soloist, Votapek has frequently played with the Boston Pops, Philadelphia Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Pittsburgh Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, National Symphony, and leading orchestras in St. Louis, Houston, Dallas, Louisville, and elsewhere. With concerto and recital appearances abroad ranging through London, Monte Carlo, Lisbon, St. Petersburg, and into the Far East, Votapek has made a special commitment to Latin America, where he has toured every other year for three decades. His guest appearances with the Juilliard, Fine Arts, New World, and Chester String Quartets are highlights of his extensive chamber music experience. The PBS network and other educational stations draw frequently on his video series of 40 recitals for broadcast throughout the U.S. Votapek began his musical education at age 9, when he enrolled in the Wisconsin Conservatory. He continued his studies at Northwestern University and subsequently attended the Manhattan School of Music and The Juilliard School. He presently serves as Artist-in-Residence at Michigan State University in East Lansing. He has recorded for numerous recording labels and was the soloist on Arthur Fiedler’s last Boston Pops recording, a Gershwin program re-released on CD by Pickwick. -- Tammy Mulske, Technology and Marketing Supervisor, Music, tamara.mulske@und.edu, 777-3271