July 21, 2014

UM Frost School of Music Presents Festival Miami’s 2014 Season

Dawn Upshaw and Maria Schneider
Presenting its 31st Season this October 10 through November 8, the University of Miami Frost School of Music’s acclaimed Festival Miami -- Florida’s premier live music festival –stages a stellar line-up of acclaimed performing artists in a diverse blend of styles and cultural backgrounds. World-class instrumentalists, orchestras, singers, songwriters, composers and other musical icons showcase their artistic prowess alongside astounding faculty artists and students from the Frost School of Music. More than 25 concerts and events are organized into four genre themes: Great Performances, Jazz and Beyond, Music of the Americas, and Creative American Music.

Festival Miami’s 31st season opens on October 10, 2014 as The Frost Symphony Orchestra presents Made in America featuring Thomas Sleeper conducting outstanding works by American composers Barber, Bernstein, Creston, Ives, and Ruggles. The concert promises to be a memorable evening featuring internationally acclaimed saxophonist Dale Underwood and virtuoso violinist Michael Ludwig. Opening weekend also features a blend of classical, jazz and more by the masterful trio Time for Three on October 12. Then, an inventive new chamber group Pulse explores appealing repertoire by composers from around the world on October 15.

Additional Festival Miami highlights include renowned opera star Dawn Upshaw and composer Maria Schneider in the Florida premiere of their three-time Grammy Award winning project Winter Morning Walks with the Frost School of Music’s Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra on October 25. The following night, Grammy nominated cellist Dave Eggar, National YoungArts alumnus and U.S. Presidential Scholar of the Arts, performs and hosts a National YoungArts Foundation Interdisciplinary Showcase with fellow YoungArts alumni on October 26. For more information about the National YoungArts Foundation, visit youngarts.org.

Vadym Kholodenko
Festival Miami’s annual free Emerging Composers concert takes place on October 27. Acclaimed piano duo Genova and Dimitrov performs two-piano favorites on October 29, and Gold Medalist of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition Vadym Kholodenko offers a thrilling solo piano recital on November 4. Also in early November, the Frost Wind Ensemble presents an all-Gershwin program under the direction of Gary Green featuring new arrangements by Grammy nominated pianist and dean of the Frost School of Music Shelly Berg and Grammy Award winning violinist and artist-in-residence Mark O’Connor.

For Festival Miami’s Jazz and Beyond offerings, virtuosic duo Bass Extremes featuring bassists Steve Bailey and Victor Wooten perform a high-intensity opening week concert on October 14; steel pan virtuoso Leon Foster Thomas brings his unique Caribbean, jazz and Latin musical blend to the festival stage on October 16; and The Jazz Cruise All-Stars tear it up on October 17. For big band lovers, beloved vocalist Patti Austin performs a vibrant, high-energy tribute to Ella Fitzgerald with the Frost Studio Jazz Band on October 22 and celebrated jazz bassist, composer, arranger, producer John Clayton performs and conducts the Frost Concert Jazz Band on October 30. Then, remarkable jazz singer Gretchen Parlato appears November 5 with the spectacular Frost Jazz Vocal 1 Ensemble directed by Kate Reid, and performs a special duo set with Shelly Berg.

Patti Austin
Guitar fans are treated to two amazing guitar gatherings at Festival Miami 2014. First, classical guitar buffs will enjoy the ever-popular Concierto de Aranjuez and other guitar masterworks of Joaquín Rodrigo featuring guitar virtuosi Rafael Padrón, Rene Izquierdo, Isaac Bustos and Federico Musgrove on October 21. The following week, Festival Miami offers an exclusive Jazz Guitar Summit featuring acclaimed recording artist John Hart, famed Brazilian jazz guitarist Diego Figueiredo, plus the fresh, cutting-edge New West Guitar Group on October 28.

Festival Miami is also pleased to once again present a children’s afternoon concert featuring Parents’ Choice Award winners In The Nick of Time, this year on October 19. Festival Miami’s annual Songwriters Showcase—one of the most anticipated popular events at Festival Miami each year—features songs composed and performed by Frost School of Music students enrolled in the Bruce Hornsby Creative American Music program, on October 23.

South Florida concertgoers will also be treated to an unforgettable evening with singer, guitarist and music legend Jorma Kaukonen, a founding member of Jefferson Airplane, on October 24. Emilio Estefan presents a sensational new singer-songwriter Fantine in a fabulous fusion of Latin and Soul on November 1. Then, Guatemalan singer-songwriter Gaby Moreno, recipient of a Latin Grammy Award last year as Best New Artist, lights up the stage on November 6 with hit songs in both Spanish and English. Additional popular artists will be announced soon.

Festival Miami’s closing weekend is presented in collaboration with two other respected arts presenting organizations: Seraphic Fire as they perform Vivaldi: Gloria with the New York-based period orchestra The Sebastians, at UM Gusman Concert Hall on November 7 (tickets are available through the Seraphic Fire box office at 305-285-9060 or online at http://www.seraphicfire.org); as well as Jazz Roots—A Larry Rosen Jazz Series with Jazz Roots: Georgia on My Mind—Celebrating Ray Charles, staged at the Adrienne Arsht Center, also on November 7. This spectacular tribute program features an all-star roster of special guest artists, with exclusive arrangements featuring the University of Miami Frost School of Music's Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra. Tickets are available through the Arsht Center Box Office at 305-949-6722 or online at arshtcenter.org.

The closing night of Festival Miami 2014 features everybody’s favorite blues vocalist/guitarist Keb’ Mo’ on November 8. This Grammy Award winner and outstanding entertainer performs music from his latest album BLUESAmericana, plus hits from his illustrious 20-year career.

TICKET INFORMATION
Concerts are held in the intimate 600-seat UM Maurice Gusman Concert Hall, 1314 Miller Drive, on the University of Miami’s Coral Gables campus, unless otherwise indicated. Tickets start at $15 and several free events are also offered. Season packages will be available to the public starting July 21 and all individual tickets will be available to the public starting August 4th. For tickets and the full Festival Miami 2014 schedule, visit festivalmiami.com, or call 305-284-4940.

About Festival Miami
Festival Miami has set a precedent over the last three decades by providing a series that blends artistically and culturally diverse music with educational opportunities. The festival offers 20-30 concerts each season, providing for people of all ages the chance to be enriched by live musical performances. It is unrivaled in its scope of musical presentations and is known throughout South Florida, the U.S., and the international community for its cultural contributions while expanding academic opportunities and cultural enrichment to all of South Florida and its visitors.

The Festival’s concert series features the Frost School’s widely known artist-faculty and student ensembles, and an educational mission that includes children’s concerts, master classes, lectures, forums, and concerts that highlight historically significant events.
For a complete listing of concerts and to order tickets online visitfestivalmiami.com or email fmtickets@miami.edu for additional information. The Festival Miami Advance Ticket Sales Office phone number is (305) 284-4940. Hours are Monday – Friday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. All performances are held at the Maurice Gusman Concert Hall, located at the Phillip and Patricia Frost School of Music, 1314 Miller Drive, on the University of Miami’s Coral Gables Campus (unless otherwise noted).