The Whatley Center for the Performing Arts at Northeast Texas Community College is pleased to announce that it will be returning on Friday, March 5 at 7:30 p.m. for a socially-distanced piano concert featuring NTCC President Dr. Ron Clinton. The event is limited to 100 guests and tickets are $30 for adults and $10 for ages 17-and-under. Virtual live-streaming tickets are also available for $15. All proceeds from the concert will directly benefit the NTCC Eagle Food Pantry, which provides much-needed food and other services to NTCC students.
“It was so disappointing that we were unable to have our regular season this year due to COVID-19, but we are looking forward to starting back up with a wonderful piano concert by our very own talented college president,” Carolyn Franks, Director of the Whatley Center, said. “In addition to social distancing and limiting the number of seats, we are implementing other measures to help ensure a safe and comfortable environment for our guests.”
Clinton joined the NTCC faculty when the college opened in 1985, teaching music, humanities, and philosophy before joining the administrative team. He was named President of NTCC in 2017. Prior to his time at NTCC, Clinton performed extensively throughout the United States, Asia and South America as a concert pianist, appearing as guest soloist with symphony orchestras in Houston, Austin, Lubbock, South America, and the Republic of South Korea. He received his Doctor’s Degree from the University of Texas at Austin in Piano Performance where he studied with William Race and performed in master classes with such notable artists as Augustin Anievas, Claude Frank, Anton Kuerti, and Leon Fleisher.
In addition to his work at NTCC, Dr. Clinton has also served as “artist in residence” at Mokwon University in Taejon, South Korea and has been a faculty member at the Conservatory of Music at the University of Southern Chile in Valdivia, Chile where he taught piano, served as guest conductor of the Conservatory Orchestra Austral de Chile, and performed concerts throughout the country, including performances at the prestigious International Frutillar Music Festival in southern Chile. His solo and chamber music performances have been recorded and broadcast over PBS stations throughout the United States.
In-person tickets can only be purchased by calling the Whatley Center Box Office at 903-434-8181. All tickets are first-come-first-served and only 100 will be sold. Virtual Streaming tickets can be purchased online at www.ntcc.edu/clintonconcert. A link to the high-definition streaming event will be e-mailed to ticketholders 48 hours before the concert. It will also be recorded and available for viewing through midnight on Sunday, May 7. A high speed Internet connection is necessary for an optimal viewing experience.
Tickets are also now on sale for The Orchard Ensemble Chamber Music featuring Mark Miller, violin; Ute Miller, viola and Evan Mitchell, piano. The concert is March 21 at 2:30 p.m. and will also be limited to 100 seats. Tickets for this event can also be purchased by calling the box office at 903-434-8181.
