KRAVIS CENTER Launches Young Artists Series with Pianist JADE SIMMONS

Nov. 8, 2012 - PRLog -- KRAVIS CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
Young Artists Series 2012-2013 Opens with
Pianist Jade Simmons – December 3

Individual Concert Tickets On Sale Now

(West Palm Beach, FL – November 8, 2012)  The Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts has announced that the Young Artists Series 2012-2013 will open on December 3 with pianist Jade Simmons, who will be making her South Florida debut.
   
Also making their South Florida debut this season as part of the Young Artists Series are the Jasper String Quartet on February 11 and pianist Mariangela Vacatello on March 11.

Presented in the intimate Rinker Playhouse, the Young Artists Series showcases the extraordinary talents of young virtuosos who are already making their mark in the international classical music community.  Tickets are now available for purchase at $30 each.

December 3 – 7:30 p.m.  (Monday)
A South Florida Debut
Jade Simmons, Piano
For her musical creativity, electrifying stage presence, and remarkable range of repertoire (from classics to cutting edge), pianist Jade Simmons became the first-ever New Music/New Places Fellow for the prestigious Concert Artist Guild. The Washington Post praised her as "a clear, powerful pianist with a magnetic personality ... worth seeing any time." In 2009, the young concert and recording artist hosted the flrst-ever webcast of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Further expanding her worldwide audience in 2011, Jade hosted the XIV International Tchaikovsky Competition webcast in Moscow. The Houston Press named her "Houston's Best Arts Ambassador" in 2011, a year she closed with a recital at the White House.
Marshall E. Rinker, Sr. Playhouse
Tickets: $30
(Series sponsored by the Harriett M. Eckstein New Art Fund, with support for this concert from The Raymond and Bessie Kravis Foundation)

January 15 – 7:30 p.m.  (Tuesday)
Harlem Quartet
Ilmar Gavilán, Violin
Melissa White, Violin
Jaime Amador, Viola
Matt Zalkind, Cello
The Harlem Quartet, praised for its 'panache" by The New York Times, is credited with an "assured technique ... and enough energy to be harnessed as a new source of green power" (NPR Music). The quartet's superb artistry and versatility have led to performances with legendary violinist Itzhak Perlman as well as pianist Chick Corea. The quartet made an acclaimed Carnegie Hall debut in 2006, followed by concerts in Europe and at the White House, and the release of three CDs. The quartet, in addition to its programs of classical chamber works, regularly performs music by African-American and Latin composers, including Wynton Marsalis and Tania León.
(Note: First violinist Ilmar Gavilán will make his Kravis Center debut on Sunday, November 11, as soloist in the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with the National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba.)
Marshall E. Rinker, Sr. Playhouse
Tickets: $30
(Series sponsored by the Harriett M. Eckstein New Art Fund)

February 11 – 7:30 p.m.  (Monday)
A South Florida Debut
Jasper String Quartet
J Freivogel, Violin
Sae Chonabayashi, Violin
Sam Quintal, Viola
Rachel Henderson Freivogel, Cello
Winner of the 2012 Cleveland Quartet Award, the Jasper String Quartet is a fast-rising ensemble, hailed as “sonically delightful and expressively compelling” (The Strad) and "powerful" (The New York Times). Based in New Haven, Conn., the Jasper is quartet-in-residence at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and at the Naples (Fla.) Classic Chamber Concerts. Its major awards include the 2008 Coleman Competition Grand Prize, and Silver Medal at the 2008 and 2009 Fischoff Chamber Music Competition and the 2009 Astral Artists - National Auditions. The quartet has performed throughout the United States, Canada, England, Italy, Japan, Korea, Norway and Panama.
Marshall E. Rinker, Sr. Playhouse
Tickets: $30
(Series sponsored by the Harriett M. Eckstein New Art Fund, with support for this concert from The Raymond and Bessie Kravis Foundation)

March 11 – 7:30 p.m.  (Monday)
A South Florida Debut
Mariangela Vacatello, Piano
(Young Artists Series)
For her passion, technical ability, and magnificent musicality, Mariangela Vacatello has won numerous competition prizes worldwide, including at the 2009 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, and the Laureate Prize at the Queen Elizabeth International Music Competition in 2007. Born in Naples, Italy, she made her official debut at age 14 with the formidable Liszt Piano Concerto No. 1. She has performed on prestigious stages worldwide, including the Berlin Konzerthaus, London's Wigmore Hall, the Mozarteum Auditorium in Salzburg, and Salle Cortot in Paris.
Marshall E. Rinker, Sr. Playhouse
Tickets: $30
(Series sponsored by the Harriett M. Eckstein New Art Fund, with support for this concert from The Raymond and Bessie Kravis Foundation)



How to Purchase Tickets:
Tickets are available for purchase at $30 each at the Kravis Center box office, 701 Okeechobee Blvd. in downtown West Palm Beach; online at www.kravis.org; or by phone at (561) 832-7469 or (800) 572-8471.

About the Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts:
The Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts is a not-for-profit performing arts center whose mission is to enhance the quality of life in Palm Beach County by presenting a diverse schedule of national and international artists and companies of the highest quality; by offering comprehensive arts education programs; by providing a Palm Beach County home in which local and regional arts organizations can showcase their work; and by providing economic catalyst and community leadership in West Palm Beach, supporting efforts to increase travel and tourism to Palm Beach County.

The Kravis Center is located at 701 Okeechobee Blvd. in West Palm Beach, FL.  For more information, please call (561) 832-7469 or visit www.kravis.org.

For Photos:
To download accompanying image, go to the Kravis Center’s online pressroom at http://pressroom.kravis.org.

Media Contact:
Gary Schweikhart
PR-BS, Inc.
561.756.4298
gary@pr-bs.net