UpDate - Vol. 13, No. 12, Page 1
November 18, 1993
UD pianist onstage at Carnegie Hall gala

     For pianist Marie-Christine Delbeau, assistant professor of music,
performing at Carnegie Hall was a superlative experience-wonderful,
exciting, never-to-be forgotten and tense.
     "It was the kind of tension one has before any performance that is
transformed into energy when you play," she said.
     Delbeau accompanied violinist Diane Monroe during Fiddlefest, a gala
evening of classical, country and jazz violin at Carnegie Hall to benefit
music education programs for children in New York City. The Oct. 25
performance was filmed by PBS.
     Delbeau and Monroe play together in a Philadelphia chamber group,
Contrasts, which performs classical and contemporary works, including new
music by African-American composers.
     When Monroe was invited to play at Fiddlefest, she asked Delbeau to
accompany her. The two musicians rehearsed together intensely for the
performance, playing Stravinsky's Le Baiser de la Fee.
     Sunday was rehearsal day, when the musicians for the Monday peformance
gathered together, and it was a time of work and excitement.
     Perhaps the most thrilling part of the whole experience was being on
the program with legendary musicians, such as violinists Isaac Stern and
Midori, and hearing and seeing them perform. "We followed Itzhak Perlman,
one of the greatest violinists in the world," she said.
     "We were treated to a wonderful experience," Delbeau recalled. "We
stayed in a hotel overlooking Central Park, were invited to the dinner
before the performance at the Russian Tea Room, as well as to a champagne
and dessert reception which followed.
     The whole program was well-organized and artistically beautiful, and
it was an honor to take part."
     Delbeau grew up and began her musical training in the New York City
area, so, this was a homecoming for her. She was graduated from the
University of Texas in Austin and earned a master's degree from North Texas
State University.
                                                  -Sue Swyers Moncure