Dranoff 2 Piano Presents "Bang the Ivories"

MIAMI - March 6, 2015 - PRLog -- Contact:

Carlene M. Sawyer

Dranoff International 2 Piano Foundation

(305)572-9900, carlene@dranoff2piano.org

March 5^th, 2015

For Immediate Release

DRANOFF PRESENTS “BANG THE IVORIES”

The Dranoff continues in its 28^th Season of 2 piano masters with “Bang the Ivories”.

On Saturday, March 28^th at 8:00 pm, Dranoff 2 Piano presents critically-acclaimed pianist and 1995 Dranoff International 2 Piano Competition winner Maarten van Veen and world-renowned pianist Ralph van Raat, joining Colin Currie, of international fame, and master timpanist Benjamin Ramirez at the South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center, in a concert titled “Bang the Ivories”. The program features both new and contemporary classical music encompassing the masterpieces for 2 pianos and percussion of great past and living composers of classical music, played by internationally-acclaimed artists, Maarten van Veen, Ralph van Raat, Colin Currie and Benjamin Ramirez. This concert will include works for everything from piano duo to percussion duo, as well as quartet works for 2 pianos and percussion.

The concert will present the well-known Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion by Béla Bartók, a new work by David Maric titled Trophic Cascades, as well as the performance of a new commission from percussionist Colin Currie, “Realismos Magicos” for solo marimba, by Rolf Wallin. For the occasion of “Bang the Ivories”, the quartet will be performing a new arrangement by Artistic Director Erik Ochsner, of Gavin Bryars’s Sketch for Sub-Rosa.

“[Colin Currie’s] deft articulation and sheer speed were displayed with showmanship and panache… evoking a jazz drummer in a big band at full tilt.”-  South Florida Classical Review

“[van Raat’s] sound is ideal: at once incisive and full. He switches brilliantly between the music’s further-out extremes… and its long, wry, ruminative sketches.”-  BBC Music Magazine

“Bang the Ivories” will present world-renowned pianists Maarten van Veen and Ralph van Raat alongside internationally-acclaimed percussionists Colin Currie and Benjamin Ramirez. Today, Colin Currie performs with the world’s best orchestras, while Benjamin Ramirez is the Principal Timpanist for the Columbus Symphony. Both Maarten van Veen and Ralph van Raat tour across Europe, performing two-piano music on behalf of the DeDoelen Ensemble, of which Maarten is the Artistic Director.

“Bang the Ivories” takes place on Saturday, March 28^th at 8:00 pm, at the South Dade Cultural Arts Center, at 10950 SW 211th St, Miami, FL 33189. Tickets are $30 for General Admission, $45 for VIP Seating with pre-concert reception, and $5 for students. For tickets and more information, visit www.Dranoff2Piano.org or call 305-572-9900.

Dranoff International 2 Piano Foundation, Miami’s Gateway to the World of Music

For 29 years, the Dranoff International 2 Piano Foundation has been the world’s leading organization to champion exclusively two piano repertoire and artistry. It is the only international foundation, accredited by the World Federation of International Music Competitions, to discover, promote, and award honors to top professional duo piano artists through its competition, commissions, and presentations of duo piano concerts. The Dranoff promotes awareness to a new generation of students of the transformational power of music and the arts through its multi-disciplinary, educational, and inspirational concert program, Piano Slam.

The Dranoff is one of the few world-class performing arts organizations headquartered in Miami-DadeCounty, whose activities span the globe and create recognition abroad of the region’s positive image and commitment to the highest standards of creativity and the arts.

Dranoff also promotes Miami’s City and County as an international cultural destination. It exposes its home audiences to major international artists, thereby creating a cultural bridge to foster universal understanding and respect through music.