International Piano Virtuoso Performs for Lehigh Acres Students

FORT MYERS, Fla. - Nov. 4, 2019 - PRLog -- Elementary and middle school students of Veterans Park Academy for the Arts in Lehigh Acres had a rare opportunity to hear a world-class pianist October 30 when Thomas Pandolfi of Washington, D.C., performed a private concert and interactive program for the students in the school cafetorium.

Students clapped their hands, strummed along with their fingers and asked questions of Pandolfi who was brought to the school courtesy of the Fort Myers Community Concert Association as part of its outreach program for Lee County public school students.

A total of almost 700  students attended the morning middle school and afternoon elementary school programs.

"We provide seats for each of our concerts at no cost to students in Lee County public schools, but we realize that not all students have the ability to get to our weeknight performances.  To expose as many young people as possible to classical music, our Board of Directors decided to take some of our concerts to the students," said Community Concert Association President Mary Lee Mann.

Mann said the Community Concert Association Board of Directors chose Pandolfi because of his outstanding record of working with students of all ages.

Pandolfi is a graduate of The Juilliard School, where he received both his Bachelor's and Master's degrees as a scholarship student.  Highlights of the last concert season include performances with the North Charleston Pops, Symphony of the Americas, Washington Metropolitan Philharmonic and Reston Orchestra as well as a coast-to-coast recital tour.  His international concerts have carried him across the globe to China and Europe as well as a Canadian debut in British Columbia.

In 2006, he released his first CD, and has recorded 10 additional ones, including 'Language of Infinity" (Chopin), "Gypsy Passages" (Liszt), "Into the Night with Gershwin," and the Paderewski Piano Concerto recorded in the Czech Republic with the Moravian Philharmonic.

The Fort Myers Community Concert Association is preparing for another stellar season with five classical concerts planned this winter at the Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall, including performances by the Russian State Symphony Orchestra and the Russian National Ballet.

All five concerts are included in one ticket price, which ranges from $165 for prime orchestra and mezzanine seats to $155 for other orchestra and mezzanine seats, $85 for lower balcony seating and just $65 for upper balcony.  Most mezzanine seating already is sold out, Mann said.

For tickets, call the Barbara B. Mann Box Office at 239-481-4849. Tickets to individual performances are not available at this time.

For membership information, visit www.fortmyerscommunityconcerts.org