You might assume that, having been involved in classical music radio and journalism for nearly 40 years, I was the one to invite pianist Hugh Sung to join us tonight on Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner. After all, Hugh was born and bred in Philadelphia (where I lived for 32 years) and attended the Curtis Institute of Music (for much of that period, one of my regular hang-outs). Not long after graduation, Hugh joined the Curtis faculty.

Over the years, I have broadcast many of his recordings (he’s accompanied just about everyone, from Julius Baker and Aaron Rosand to Hilary Hahn and Leila Josefowicz), from physical media in station libraries and my own collection, while Hugh, unbeknownst to me, pursued a parallel career in technological innovation as it relates to classical music and its performance.

He co-founded AirTurn, a company revolutionizing digital sheet music with hands-free page-turning pedals, and joined ArtistWorks, where he teaches students worldwide through a video exchange system. In the corporeal world, he serves as Vice President of Cunningham Piano Company.

So yeah, taking all that into account, you might think I was the one who lassoed him. However, it was actually Roy who booked him, as, on top of everything else, Hugh is the music director at Roy’s church!

More to the point, Hugh happens to be a huge sci-fi fan. So he’s going to join us tonight to talk about science fiction and music, which I’m sure will lead to a lively discussion of some of our favorite genre film and television scores.

Whether it be Brahms or Borgs, one way or another, we’ll be geeking-out, when Hugh Sung beams in to “Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner.” The conversation will be livestreamed on Facebook, YouTube, etc., this Sunday evening at 7:00 EDT!

https://www.facebook.com/roystiedyescificorner

For just a taste, Hugh talks about sci-fi pianos on this video produced for Cunningham Piano Company: