The Kent Keyboard Series will present Thomas Schumacher, faculty member of the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester, in a master class and recital this weekend.

The master class will consist of a performance followed by a public lesson. Students will work with Schumacher to develop their playing skills.

“It’s an opportunity for the students to perform,” said Jerry Wong, assistant professor of music. “It’s significant because details and refinements (are) made to encourage students to reach a new level.

“This is a pretty large-scale honor to our campus,” Wong said of the prize-winning performer. “He has a big reputation.”

Schumacher has been a member of Eastman’s faculty since 1995 and has received degrees from the Manhattan School of Music and Juilliard. He has also appeared as a soloist with major orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra and Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra.

The Kent Keyboard Series is a series of piano concerts that features members of Kent State’s music faculty and guest artists who are invited by the music faculty, Wong said.

The master class will take place tomorrow and the recital will take place on Sunday. Both events will begin at 5 p.m. in Ludwig Recital Hall in the Music and Speech Building.

– Meredith Compton