(PRINCETON, NJ) -- On Thursday, January 15, 2026, Westminster Conservatory at Nassau will resume in the new year with a solo recital by pianist and composer Eric Houghton, a member of the Westminster Conservatory faculty. The performance will take place in the Niles Chapel of Nassau Presbyterian Church in Princeton, New Jersey. It is open to the public free of charge. Showtime is 12:15pm.
The program comprises selections from Houghton's original collection, More Scenes from Childhood, three preludes by Rachmaninoff and Chopin's Polonaise in A-flat.
As a performer Houghton has participated in over 50 recitals throughout the eastern United States, including solo concerts at Weill Hall in New York and Sheldon Hall in St. Louis. Following the debut of his major work Pioneer Songs in 1993, he was elected to ASCAP and subsequently received a Meet the Composer award from the organization. His two other large-scale historical oratorios, Victory Songs honoring the veterans of WWII, and Passion Songs detailing the last days of Jesus Christ, have been performed to high acclaim.
Houghton has written over 100 songs, both integrated into his larger works and in song cycles set to the words of Shakespeare, Mary Oliver, the psalmists and Victor Hugo. His Five Songs of Life and Death, based on texts by Hugo, debuted last month in St. Louis, as performed by the University of Missouri, St. Louis orchestra with Metropolitan Opera soprano Mary Dunleavy as soloist.
Houghton earned his bachelor's degree in piano performance from Westminster Choir College and his master's degree in performance from Manhattan School of Music. This June marks the completion of 41 years at Westminster Conservatory, where he joined the faculty after graduating from Westminster Choir College.
The next recital in the series will take place on February 19 and will feature the Volanti Flute Quartet.
This program is made possible in part by the Mercer County Cultural and Heritage Commission through funding from the Mercer County Board of Chosen Freeholders and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.
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