Canadian pianist Sheng Cai will open the Placitas Artists Series 2025-2026 season with a solo recital Sept. 14 at Las Placitas Presbyterian Church.
The 3 p.m. concert features works spanning three centuries, from Johann Sebastian Bach’s Partita No. 1 in B-flat Major to pieces by Canadian composers François Morel and André Mathieu.
Cai, who made his debut with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra at age 15, has performed on four continents in solo recitals and with major orchestras. His program includes Ludwig van Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 18 in E-flat Major, known as “The Hunt,” and Alexander Scriabin’s Fantasie in B minor.
The recital will highlight North American composers with Samuel Barber’s “Excursions,” which incorporates jazz and folk elements including boogie-woogie and blues, and André Mathieu’s “Canadian Spring.”
A pre-concert talk begins at 2 p.m., followed by a reception for the season’s first visual arts exhibition featuring work by the Placitas Plein Air Landscape Painters.
The art exhibition runs through Oct. 30 and is open Tuesday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and by appointment. All artwork is available for purchase.
Concert tickets are available at PlacitasArts.org. Students in kindergarten through 12th grade attend free when accompanied by an adult ticket holder. The pre-concert talk and art exhibition are free to the public.
Placitas Artists Series is supported by New Mexico Arts, a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs and the National Endowment for the Arts.