‘Biegel Performs Emerson & Anderson’ June 26th
‘Biegel Performs Emerson & Anderson’ June 26th
Superstar pianist joins Space Coast Symphony in Vero Beach for limited Florida engagement
(Merritt Island, FL) June 14, 2011– “Google” Jeffrey Biegel and you’ll get 76 pages of search returns. Little wonder the 70-piece Space Coast Symphony Orchestra is delighted to continue their Summer Concert Series with the superstar pianist featured in "Biegel Performs Emerson & Anderson." The performance gets underway on Sunday, June 26th at 3 PM at the Community Church of Vero Beach, 1901 23rd Street, 32960. The world-renowned Biegel, along with award-winning composer, Kenneth Fuchs, will join conductor Aaron Collins in a concert that opens with Fuchs’ joyous and ecstatic United Artists, a work written for the London Symphony Orchestra. Biegel, whose technique and touch have been the source of critical acclaim worldwide, will be performing Keith Emerson’s (of Emerson, Lake & Palmer fame) Piano Concerto No. 1 as well as Leroy Anderson’s recently resurrected Piano Concerto in C. A number of Leroy Anderson’s works will round out the concert, including Promenade, Clarinet Candy, Serenata, and several special surprises. $25 advance tickets may be purchased online at www.SpaceCoastSymphony.org, at one of three convenient Vero Beach ticket outlets: Marine Bank & Trust (beachside and mainland branches) Madison Avenue Consignments, or by calling (321) 536-8580. Tickets at the door are an additional $5. Students 18 years of age and under admitted free.
Conductor Aaron Collins is delighted to bring Jeffrey Biegel to Central Florida for a performance with the Space Coast Symphony.
"It will be a thrill to share the stage with Jeffrey Biegel," said Collins. "He is one of the most requested performers in the world-- and our audience will have an opportunity to see him perform two concertos, one by Leroy Anderson and the other by Rock n' Roll icon, Keith Emerson! Put this concert in the ‘don’t miss’ category."
The Space Coast Symphony will continue performing through the summer with concerts in July and August. They are the only orchestra in the Southeastern United States performing subscription concerts throughout the summer months. For more information about the Summer Series or the 'Biegel Performs Emerson & Anderson' concert, please visit www.SpaceCoastSymphony.org or call at (321) 536-8580.
About Jeffrey Biegel— Jeffrey Biegel is one of today's most revered artists having created a multi-faceted career as a pianist, recording artist, composer and arranger. His electrifying technique and mesmerizing touch has received critical acclaim and garners praise worldwide. Known for his standard-setting performances of the standard repertoire, Mr. Biegel's recent recordings for Naxos include Leroy Anderson's 'Concerto in C', conducted by Leonard Slatkin with the BBC Concert Orchestra, Ellen Taaffe Zwilich's 'Millennium Fantasy' and 'Peanuts Gallery' with the Florida State University Orchestra, a solo cd of Vivaldi's 'Four Seasons', 'Classical Carols' on the Koch label, as well as the Complete Sonatas by Mozart on the E1 label. In June 2010, he records an all-Bach CD with Grammy-winning producer, Steven Epstein, for late 2010 release. In 2010, he performs two world premieres with the Pacific Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Carl St. Clair: Richard Danielpour's 'Mirrors for Piano and Orchestra', and, William Bolcom's 'Prometheus for Piano, Orchestra and Chorus'. Mr. Biegel is currently assembling a global commissioning project for Ellen Taaffe Zwilich's next work for piano and orchestra for the 2011-13 seasons. Mr. Biegel's 'Hanukah Fantasy' for SATB/piano, is now published by the Hal Leonard Corporation, along with Lucas Richman's orchestral arrangement with choir, published by the LeDor Group. In January, 2010, Mr. Biegel created Trio21, with violinist Judy Kang and cellist Robert deMaine. For their inaugural season 2011-12, they will perform a new work commissioned exclusively for Trio21 by the celebrated composer, Kenneth Fuchs. The career of pianist Jeffrey Biegel has been marked by bold, creative achievements and highlighted by a series of firsts: He initiated the first live internet recitals in New York and Amsterdam in 1997 and 1998, and, in 1999, assembled the largest consortium of orchestras (over 25), to celebrate the millennium with a new concerto composed for him by Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, whose 'Millennium Fantasy for Piano and Orchestra' was premiered with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in 2000. He performed the Boston premiere of the restored, original 1924 manuscript of George Gershwin's 'Rhapsody in Blue' with the Boston Pops. He also transcribed Balakirev's 'Islamey Fantasy' for piano and orchestra, premiered with the American Symphony Orchestra in 2001, followed with Charles Strouse composing a new work titled 'Concerto America' for Mr. Biegel, premiered with the Boston Pops in 2002. He further arranged the piano part for Billy Joel's 'Symphonic Fantasies' in 2006, with performances at the Eastern Music Festival, the Boris Brott Festival and with the Indianapolis, Harrisburg, and other US orchestras. His new editions for Schirmer's Performance Editions include Schumann's 'Scenes from Childhood', a new 'Sonatina Album', Tschaikowsky's 'Nutcracker Suite' and Prokofiev's 'Music for Children, Opus 65' with accompanying audio cds. Mr. Biegel joined 18 co-commissioning orchestras for Lowell Liebermann's 'Concerto no. 3 for Piano and Orchestra' composed exclusively for him for the 2006-07-08 seasons. The World Premiere took place with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Andreas Delfs, and the European Premiere featured the Schleswig Holstein Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Gerard Oskamp. Mr. Biegel performed Leroy Anderson's 'Concerto in C' with the Boston Pops conducted by Keith Lockhart in Boston's Symphony Hall, as well as with the New York Pops in Carnegie Hall for the New York premiere of this work and the Minnesota Orchestra conducted by Andrew Litton (with the Grieg Piano Concerto on the SommerFest series 2008). In addition, he substituted for the late pianist John Browning to perform the World Premiere of Marjorie Rusche's 'Dreaming the Rag Waltz Blues' and Beethoven's 'Concerto no. 1 in C Major' with the South Bend Symphony Orchestra conducted by Tsung Yeh. During a tour of Germany, he performed the World Premiere of Vivaldi's 'Four Seasons for Piano and String Orchestra' with members of the Schleswig Holstein Symphony Orchestra. He also performed the World Premiere of Daniel Dorff's 'Concerto no. 1', composed for Mr. Biegel, with the Etowah Youth Orchestra, Mike Gagliardo conducting. Until the age of 3, Mr. Biegel was unable to hear or speak, until corrected by surgery. The 'reverse Beethoven' phenomenon can explain Mr. Biegel's life in music, having heard only vibrations in his formative years. Born a second-generation American, Mr. Biegel's roots are of Russian and Austrian heritage. A Russian cousin, pianist Herman Kosoff, emigrated to the United States in the early 20th century, and had studied with the great Leopold Godowsky in Austria. Mr. Biegel, with his son, Craig, composed 'The World in Our Hands', published by the Hal Leonard Corporation. Also published through Hal Leonard are 'Christmas In A Minute', a choral setting of Chopin's 'Minute Waltz', an arrangement of 'The Twelve Days of Christmas', and 'Hey Ho, the Wind and the Rain' from William Shakespeare's 'Twelfth Night', and the 'Hanukah Fantasy'. Carl Fischer also publishes 'Ho Ho Hanukah! Ho Ho Christmas!' and 'Different Kind of Hero' in 2008, and Earthsongs includes Mr. Biegel's 'Elegy of Anne Boleyn' in their catalogue. Mr. Biegel has also recorded 'Rare Gems of the Golden Age', 'Classical Carols' and other projects for PianoDisc, a player piano system. Leonard Bernstein said of pianist Jeffrey Biegel: 'He played fantastic Liszt. He is a splendid musician and a brilliant performer.' He won the First Grand Prize in the 1989 Marguerite Long International Piano Competition and First Prize in the 1985 William Kapell/University of Maryland International Piano Competition. He studied at The Juilliard School with Adele Marcus, herself a pupil of Josef Lhevinne and Artur Schnabel. Mr. Biegel is currently on the piano faculty at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music at Brooklyn College, a City University of New York (CUNY), and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY). he resides outside New York City with his wife, Sharon, his sons, Craig and Evan.
About Keith Emerson— Hailed as a keyboard legend, Keith Emerson has been one of the most important figures to emerge from the thriving UK rock scene of the 1960's and 70's. He is known as one of the most prominent leaders in the progressive rock movement, fusing rock 'n' roll with a myriad of musical styles, such as classical, jazz and world music. A modern wizard of electronic and acoustic keyboards, most notably the organ and synthesizer, he has set a standard by which others multiply. With both "The Nice" and "Emerson, Lake & Palmer," Emerson has written and recorded some of rock's most adventurous music and brought it to the masses with unmatched virtuosity and skillful showmanship. Born November 2, 1944 in Todmorden, Lancashire, England, Keith Emerson soon became a piano sensation in his hometown of Worthing, Sussex by the time he was fourteen years old. In his late teens, he moved to London, joined the band "V.I.P.'s" and later "Gary Farr and the T-Bones," backing their mentor T-Bone Walker at the Marquee Club in London, also touring Germany, France and the UK. Some of his early influences were jazz artists Fats Waller, Oscar Peterson, Dave Brubeck, Jack McDuff and Big John Patton. Classical composers also became influential to his music including J.S. Bach, Aaron Copland, Demetri Shostokovich, Bela Bartok and Alberto Ginestera amongst others. In 1970, Emerson formed the legendary group, "Emerson, Lake & Palmer" (ELP) with bassist/vocalist Greg Lake and drummer Carl Palmer. They achieved instant fame with their debut at the Isle Of Wight Festival in 1970. The trio announced their arrival on the scene by tearing into a furious rock adaptation of Mussorgsky's classic "Pictures At An Exhibition", which concluded with a barrage of cannon fire. Their first single, entitled "Lucky Man", from their debut album, "Emerson, Lake & Palmer", ended with a startling new sound, the lead Moog synthesizer solo. This sound took the world by storm, and the band was on its way. ELP released six platinum albums between 1970 and 1977, including "E, L & P," "Tarkus," "Trilogy", the cryptically entitled "Brain Salad Surgery", "Welcome Back My Friends To The Show That Never Ends" and "Works Vol. 1". They headlined the massive 1974 festival California Jam playing to an audience of over 500,000. Later in 1977, ELP toured with a handpicked orchestra, which performed Emerson's "Piano Concerto No.1". After touring with the orchestra, ELP continued on the road as a trio, releasing two more albums "Works Vol. 2" and "Love Beach" before they disbanded in 1979. Emerson, Lake & Powell Between 1985 and 1990, Emerson collaborated with Lake and Palmer in two separate efforts, "Emerson, Lake & Powell" and the band "3" respectively. In 1992, ELP reunited with the critically acclaimed "Black Moon". Subsequent world tours which resulted in the live performance releases of "Live at the Royal Albert Hall" in 1993 and "Then And Now" in 1999. In 1980, Emerson issued his first solo album, a Caribbean island inspired work called "Honky". In addition, he recorded and released "The Christmas Album", displaying his own unique interpretation of many classic Christmas songs along with original seasonal pieces. Soon thereafter, he turned to motion picture soundtrack composition, producing several film scores between 1979 and 1989, including the orchestral score for Universal Studios feature release, "Nighthawks", starring Sylvester Stallone and Billy Dee Williams and cult Italian horror master Dario Argento's "Inferno". Emerson also realized a full length Japanese animated film entitled "Harmagedon" in which he received a gold record for the main title theme, "Children of The Light" sung by Rosemary Butler. Emerson also composed the music for Marvel Animation's cartoon action TV series, "Iron Man" in 1994. Emerson went on to release the occasional collection of new material appearing on-stage. He even reunited with Nice band mates Brian Davison and Lee Jackson for a show in Glasgow, Scotland, in 2002 (Vivacitas). Along with the EMI classic release of the solo piano, "Emerson Plays Emerson" in the same year He penned an autobiography, "Pictures of an Exhibitionist" in 2003. He received the compilation treatment from Castle Records in 2005 with the two-disc "Hammer It Out: The Anthology". He toured in the USA, UK, Europe and Japan in 2004, 2005 & 2006 with his own "Keith Emerson Band", along with occasional collaborations with various orchestras in Naples, Italy and Beijing, China to promote the environmental issues. Always diverse in musical tastes, he sometimes sits in with jazz bands while encouraging others to take a safer road. In March 2010, Emerson will receive a prestigious Frankfurt Music Prize from the city of Frankfurt. In 2010, a duo tour with Greg Lake is scheduled in April, followed by a one-off ELP reunion concert in which the band will close the High Voltage Festival as the main act in London in July.
About Kenneth Fuchs— Kenneth Fuchs has composed music for orchestra, band, chorus, and various chamber ensembles. With Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lanford Wilson, he created three chamber musicals, The Great Nebula in Orion, A Betrothal, and Brontosaurus, originally presented by Circle Repertory Company in New York City. His music has been performed in the United States, Europe, China, and Japan. The Adrian Symphony Orchestra in Michigan appointed Fuchs as composer in residence for the 2009 and 2010 seasons. Under music director John Thomas Dodson, the orchestra performed world premieres of five works. The works included Divinum Mysterium, a concerto composed for Paul Silverthorne, principal violist of the London Symphony Orchestra. In 2008, the United States Air Force Academy Band (Colorado Springs) commissioned the band version of Fuchs’s United Artists. Following performances throughout the United States, the band recorded the work for its disc Windscapes, released in December 2009. Hal Leonard Corporation published the work at the same time. The work has been played by high school and college bands throughout the United States and in China. Marin Alsop selected Fuchs as one of ten composers in residence for the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music in August 2007. Alsop conducted the world premiere of the original orchestral version of United Artists, following which critic Jason Victor Serinus wrote in the American Record Guide, “The work's dramatic, resounding chords and gloriously ringing flourishes constitute a modern fanfare of sorts.” The London Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of JoAnn Falletta, has recorded two discs of Fuchs’s music. The first, released by Naxos Records in August 2005, was nominated for two Grammy Awards. The second disc, which features music for horn, was released by Naxos in January 2008. Musicweb International stated in February 2008, “Fuchs’s distinctive voice is evident from the outset, and his flair for orchestral colours and sheer lyricism shine through.” The highly successful disc Kenneth Fuchs: String Quartets 2, 3, 4 performed by the American String Quartet was released by Albany Records in 2001. American Record Guide stated quite simply, “String quartet recordings don’t get much better than this.” Fuchs’s music is published by Edward B. Marks Music Company, Hal Leonard Corporation, Theodore Presser Company, and Yelton Rhodes Music and has been recorded by Albany, Cala, and Naxos Records. Kenneth Fuchs serves as Professor of Composition at the University of Connecticut. He received his bachelor of music degree in composition from the University of Miami (cum laude) and his master of music and doctor of musical arts degrees from the Juilliard School in New York City. His teachers include Milton Babbitt, David Del Tredici, David Diamond, Vincent Persichetti, Alfred Reed, and Stanley Wolfe. The University of Miami Frost School of Music named Fuchs Distinguished Alumnus for the Year 2000. Phi Mu Alpha, the national music fraternity, named Fuchs a Signature Sinfonian in 2009. The designation “recognizes alumni members who have achieved a high standard of accomplishment in their field or profession, thereby bringing honor to Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity.
About the Space Coast Symphony Orchestra— The SCSO is a lively and passionate Central Florida professional-level orchestra comprised of professional musicians and select youth players. The Orchestra was formed with a two-fold mission: to provide mentoring and performance opportunities for the finest youth musicians as well as to expose a broad cross section of Central Florida to quality programming at affordable prices. The ultimate goal of the organization is to help ensure the symphonic tradition for the enjoyment of future generations. The symphony performs in several very comfortable venues in Brevard and Indian River counties, with advance general admission tickets priced from just $10 to $25.* School-aged children 18 years and under are admitted free of charge. Relying on a non-traditional orchestra model and a slim budget, the non-profit group performs year-round in addition to providing over a hundred separate and free ensemble performances. More information about the Space Coast Symphony Orchestra’s upcoming concerts, ticket sales, venues, directions and sponsorship opportunities is available at http://www.SpaceCoastSymphony.org or by calling (321) 536-8580. *Ticket price varies with venue location and concert type; check website for details.
