17 Days until Christmas! December is flying by way too fast, and my calendar is filling up! December 12th is booked for me, and it should be for you too. I’ve got tickets to Portland Piano International’s concert series and am so excited to go with my sidekick Sari and watch a native Portlander, Andrew Brownell, wow us with his incomparable talents.
Sari and I had the opportunity to sit down with Patricia Price, the executive director of Portland Piano International, and she introduced us what they do, and why it is so important to the Portland community. Portland Piano International is an independent non-profit organization that presents the finest pianists from around the world in recitals and educational activities. Their concerts are sponsored in part by multiple art councils and agencies, as well as many local supporters and fellow pianists in the Portland metropolitan area. They are committed to preserving the art and elegance of solo piano recitals, and have featured many of the Worlds best, right here in Portland. The only other cities that have been lucky enough to have these musical privileges are Chicago and New York. The program continues to increase its awareness and hosts regularly sold out shows. They even have mastery classes, in which the Worlds best pianists teach an up and coming professional a lesson in front of an audience. Everyone in the Portland Piano International office actually plays the piano too, which just goes to show the passion that still exists for this musical talent.
The concert series began in October of this year and will continue on through May of 2011. Coming up December 12th is a concert you don’t want to miss. A native Portlander, Andrew Brownell has played to full houses and received glowing reviews across North America and Europe. The press regularly remark on his musical integrity, beauty of tone, and scholarly insight. He has been playing since the age of four and has since earned his doctorate from the Guildhall School of music in London and was recently made a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists. Watch the video below to hear Andrew playing the Prokofiev Third Concerto. He also performs works of Beethoven and Schumann.
If you can’t make it to Andrew Brownell’s concert, be sure to check out their site for various other performances in the months to come. Shows are presented at Portland’s Newmark Theatre on Sunday’s at 4pm. For venue and ticket information, visit their site below.
Help support Portland Piano International and your very own Andrew Brownell by attending this solo concert; opportunities to see a world-renowned talent like this are few and far between, I’m excited to be awed by his gift and I hope you will be too!
Neighborhood: Southwest Portland 1111 SW Broadway Portland, OR 97205 503-274-6566 Click for map www.portlandpiano.org
365 Things to do in Portland 