UCM Summer Music Camp & Piano Institute to Celebrate Camp Anniversary with Recitals Featuring Carolyn True

Free public performances planned during the 2023 University of Central Missouri Summer Music Camp and Piano Institute include opportunities to attend events that include pianist Dr. Carolyn True, who has strong ties back to UCM.

WARRENSBURG, MO - The 2023 University of Central Missouri Summer Music Camp and Piano Institute will celebrate the 35th anniversary of the Piano Institute with three recitals, including a solo concert by UCM Distinguished Alumna Dr. Carolyn True. All programs will take place in Hart Recital Hall, located in the Utt Music Building, and they are free and open to the public.

True is an internationally renowned concert pianist, master teacher, and UCM Music Distinguished Alumna. Having attended UCM's former lab school for many years as a youth, she received her Bachelor of Music degree from UCM, then known as Central Missouri State University, as a student of her father, Dr. Wesley True. She then went on to receive graduate degrees at the University of Maryland and the Eastman School of Music with her aunt, Nelita True. She is a prize-winning faculty member of Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, and is the featured guest artist at this year’s UCM Music Camp. 

Providing an opportunity for the public to enjoy live music performances, the first of three programs kicks off at 4 p.m. Sunday, June 11, and will feature camp alumni including Sally Kirchhoff and Angela Smith, David and Denise Robinson, Tammy Spratley, Khang Nguyen, and Colin Levins. The second program begins at 7 p.m. Sunday,  and will feature True in a solo performance.  Scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday, June 12, the third program will feature UCM Music Camp faculty members for a presentation that includes a mixture of traditional instruments, electronics, and toy piano, as well as performances by True, Eric Honour, Mia Kim, Alex Smith, Jackson Thomas, and Stella Roden.

The UCM (CMSU) Summer Music Camp was founded in 1964 and ran continuously until going on hiatus in the mid 2000s. The UCM Summer Piano Institute was founded in 1988 by Dr. Wesley True and Dr. Richard Smith. Together, these camps have provided music education for thousands of students, many of whom went on to become professional music educators and performers.  A new era in the camp history is observed in 2023 with the campus being rebranded as a single music camp. Fifty students from across Missouri will be studying with 17 faculty members from June 10-16.
 

For more information, contact camp director Dr. Mia Kim at mkim@ucmo.edu or (660) 543-8900.