World-renowned concert pianist and Joel Estes Tate Professor Joaquín Achúcarro recently celebrated 25 years of teaching at SMU Meadows School of the Arts. To honor him, Meadows hosted a tribute concert on Friday, February 19.
The concert featured performances by seven of his outstanding former SMU students, all of whom are winners of major competitions worldwide and perform internationally. The concert was curated by two of them, recording artists Alessio Bax and Lucille Chung, who are also Meadows’ new Johnson-Prothro Artists-in-Residence. The couple also served as artistic directors of The Joaquín Achúcarro Foundation, founded in 2007 to showcase, educate and benefit the careers of pianists, while developing and maintaining the legacy of Joaquín Achúcarro in perpetuity.
[youtube width=”853″ height=”480″]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRmLYPA8LYQ[/youtube]
“Joaquín can only described as a treasure – to Meadows, to SMU, to Dallas and right on up to the cultural life of the world,” said Sam Holland, dean of the Meadows School. “He is truly one of the greatest. It is a privilege and pleasure to be able to honor him for his 25 years of service, not only in the form of his extraordinary performances in our community, but for bringing pianistic talent of the highest quality to the Meadows School for the last quarter century.”
Read more
Photographer Kim Leeson was behind the scenes on the 25th anniversary concert. 
