 |
| Freda Payne |
The University of Miami Frost School of Music and presenting
sponsor UHealth – University of Miami Health System announce the extraordinary
lineup for its annual multi-genre music festival, FESTIVAL MIAMI, Florida’s
premier live music festival. From October 16 to November 7, 2015, the Festival
will offer vibrant performances by the biggest names on the music scene from
around the globe who will showcase their talents alongside the outstanding
students and faculty artists from the Frost School of Music. More than 20
performances, organized into four themes: Great Performances, Jazz and Beyond,
Music of the Americas, and Creative American Music, will be held in the
intimate setting of the 600-seat UM Maurice Gusman Concert Hall, 1314 Miller
Drive, on the Coral Gables campus.
The Festival’s 32nd season kicks off on a bright note on
October 16 when South Florida concert-goers will be treated to an unforgettable
program featuring the music of three visionary American composers. The
highlight of the evening will be a riveting performance by one of America’s
newest artistic treasures – the Billboard chart-topping piano sensation SIMONE
DINNERSTEIN who will perform the Florida premiere of Phillip Lasser’s Concerto
for Piano and Orchestra – The Circle and the Child with the FROST SYMPHONY
ORCHESTRA. Alan Hovhaness’s landmark And God Created Great Whales and Howard
Hanson’s epic Symphony No. 5 complete the program of standout works.
Additional Festival Miami highlights include the annual
SONGWRITERS SHOWCASE – Johnny Mercer Re-Imagined, held on October 20, that will
place the spotlight on the remarkable talents of songwriters and performers
from the Frost School’s Bruce Hornsby Creative American Music (CAM) Program.
The students will give a fresh spin on classic songs by the legendary Johnny
Mercer, who penned such beloved standards as “Autumn Leaves,” “Moon River,” and
“Skylark,” showcasing all new versions of classic works by this brilliant
writer. This event will be hosted by Rey Sanchez, CAM Program Director and Jon
Brielle, Vice President of the Johnny Mercer Foundation. The following evening,
October, 21, country music fans will be treated to an “unplugged” and “in the
round” evening of music by Nashville’s songwriting giants when the NASHVILLE
COUNTRY ALL-STARS (Craig Carothers, Tony Arata, Dave Berg, and Annie Mosher)
showcase their biggest hits recorded by Garth Brooks, Keith Urban, Trisha
Yearwood, Rodney Atkins, and many others. Cuban-born piano master GONZALO
RUBALCABA, who has been heralded by The New York Times as “one of the greatest
musicians in jazz… a pianist of almost supernatural abilities,” will be joined
by his fellow Frost School faculty artists, including percussion virtuoso and
winner of the Concert Artists Guild International Competition SVET STOYANOV
with trumpeter/bandleader JOHN
 |
| Los Angeles Guitar Quartet |
They will enthrall audiences in their new musical home with a thrilling jazz program on October 22. The Grammy-and Emmy Award winning tenor JOHN EASTERLIN will thrill audiences with Broadway and opera favorites and classic arias by Mozart, Bernstein, plus more celebrated composers on October 24 on a program that features Grammy nominated jazz arranger and Dean of the Frost School of Music SHELLY BERG as special guest. On October 25, the inimitable LOS ANGELES GUITAR QUARTET -- recognized as one of the nation’s most groundbreaking and virtuosic instrumental ensembles -- will present music from their album New Renaissance and arrangements of classics by Ralph Towner, Pat Metheny, and Chet Atkins from their Grammy-winning project Guitar Heroes, as well as premiere works by Atanas Ourkouzounov, Tilman Hoppstock, and Dweezil Zappa.
Musical sparks will fly in a new interpretation of Brahms’s
Horn Trio in E-flat Major, Op. 40 on October 28 when admired Frost horn faculty
member, motion picture and solo recording artist RICHARD TODD performs with
violin soloist and Cleveland Institute of Music’s President JOEL SMIRNOFF and
award-winning pianist and NPR’s From the Top host CHRISTOPHER O’RILEY. Todd
will also perform Olivier Messiaen’s solo horn work “Appel Interstellaire.” Solo
piano and violin works by Bach and chamber music gems round out the evening’s
program. CYRILLE AIMÉE, who is an extraordinary revelation in contemporary
vocal jazz, will perform with the 2015 DownBeat Collegiate Award winning FROST
STUDIO JAZZ BAND and JAZZ VOCAL 1 ENSEMBLE on October 29. The young, New
York-based French singer AIMÉE blends standards with Gypsy swing and bossa
nova. Since she won the 2012 Sarah Vaughan Jazz Competition, she has quickly
become widely acclaimed as a favorite of jazz aficionados. Multi-platinum
selling singer-songwriter and pianist BEN FOLDS will perform his critically
acclaimed Concerto for Piano and Orchestra with the Frost School’s stellar
HENRY MANCINI INSTITUTE ORCHESTRA on October 30. His concerto, which he
composed in 2013 and has since been performed by symphony orchestras to
sold-out audiences around the globe, will be featured on his upcoming new album
"So There," which is slated for release in September 2015."
On Halloween afternoon, the FROST SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
presents Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Children’s Suite for Orchestra)
by John Williams, plus music by Saint-Saëns and Mussorgsky. The young and
young-at-heart are invited to dress in Halloween costumes and enjoy
post-concert treats courtesy of Festival Miami.
 |
| Black Violin |
The Festival continues on November 1 with an exhilarating
sonic celebration when the violin/viola hip-hop duo BLACK VIOLIN, comprised of
string musicians Kev Marcus and Wil B, will once again shatter stereotypes of
classical musicians by offering their fresh take on classical music,
incorporating influences from R&B and soul to rock and beyond. Named one of
the hottest new bands at the South by Southwest (SXSW®) Festival, Black Violin
is sure to “wow” audiences with their high-energy, genre-bending sounds. Grammy
nominated jazz organist extraordinaire JOEY DeFRANCESCO has been credited with
being a vital force in the revival of the Hammond B3 organ as a jazz
instrument. On November 3, he will entertain audiences with his swinging style
and astounding originality as he performs in the great tradition of the
unforgettable Jimmy Smith. FREDA PAYNE, who will forever be associated with her
1970 breakthrough R&B hit “Band of Gold,” returns to her musical roots as
an American jazz singer in the tradition of Nancy Wilson and Ella Fitzgerald on
November 5. She will captivate audiences with her artistic prowess on a program
that includes “Save Your Love for Me,” plus more enthralling selections with a trio
that will feature Frost School of Music Dean SHELLY BERG on piano.