This article is from the EMU News Archive. Current EMU new is available at www.emu.edu/news

Concert pianist to perform on campus

Carlos Alberto Ibay with family and EMU music professors Lynne Mackey and Joan Griffing.

He was born premature, with a birth weight of 1 lb., 14 oz., and blind, barely surviving a three-month stay in an incubator.

Today, Carlos Alberto Ibay is an accomplished concert pianist and tenor vocalist, equally at ease playing Tchaikovsky's "B-flat Piano Concerto," improvising on Tatum's "Humoresque" or playing his own arrangements of Broadway musicals and jazz greats.

Ibay will present a recital 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 22, in Martin Chapel of the seminary building at EMU.

Fluent in seven languages, Ibay's vocal repertoire ranges from great American standards to the music of Italy, Spain, France and the Philippines.

Carlos Alberto Ibay

At age 28, Iby has performed in five continents, captivating audiences with his irresistible charisma and his ability to speak the language of every country where he has performed.

His musical talent has taken him to the stages of the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., Carnegie Hall in New York City, the Rachmaninoff Center of the Arts in Russia, The Teatro Storchi in Modena, Italy and to the concert halls of Brazil, Australia and Israel.

Ibay studied with Thomas Schumacher, formerly of the University of Maryland and is currently studying with Dr. Thomas Mastroanni, former dean of the music department at the Catholic University of America.

"The challenges of life caused by blindness have hardly discouraged his desire to perform," one observer said of Ibay. "Carlos' charisma, wit and the infectious joy imparted through his music make him one of the most unusual and sought after young performers today."

Admission to the program is $10 for adults and $5 for senior citizens and students at the door. Learn more about EMU's music department.

— article by: Jim Bishop; posted February 18, 2009