On April 10, 2018 @ 7:45 pm. Symphony of the Americas finishes its 30th Anniversary Season with the return appearance of spectacular pianist and composer Conrad Tao, heralded by Forbes in its Top 30 Under 30. Conrad celebrated the Symphony’s 25th Anniversary performing all 5 Beethoven Piano Concertos in 2 back-to-back concert evenings. Now it is only fitting, while he is still under 30, for him to commemorate the 30th Anniversary Season with a special dénouement concert. Highlights include Conrad performing Prokofiev’s 2nd Piano Concerto as well as “Over,” a work of his own composition, with the Symphony for a gala celebratory evening you won't want to miss!
Conrad Tao is a leader of the new generation of classical music. A former prodigy, Conrad has emerged as a mature, thoughtful and thought-provoking artist with both a singular vision and the talent to realize it. His ceaseless exploration lends a new, contemporary vitality to his much-lauded performances of the core repertory, further distinguishing him as one of the most compelling forces on the scene today. Tao has appeared worldwide as a pianist and composer and has been dubbed “a musician of probing intellect and open-hearted vision” by the New York Times, “a thoughtful and mature composer” by NPR, and “ferociously talented” by Time Out New York.
In the 2013-14 season, while serving as the Dallas Symphony Orchestra's artist-in-residence, Tao premiered his orchestral composition, The World is Very Different Now. Commissioned in observance of the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the work was described by the New York Times as “shapely and powerful.” In September 2015, the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia premiered his piano concerto An Adjustment, with Tao at the piano. The Philadelphia Inquirer declared the piece abundant in “compositional magic,” a “most imaginative [integration of] spiritual post-Romanticism and ‘90s club music.” A Warner Classics recording artist, Tao’s first two albums Voyages and Pictures have been praised by NPR, The New York Times, The New Yorker’s Alex Ross, and many more.
AWARDS:
- Eight (8) consecutive ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Awards
- Carlos Surinach Prize (BMI Foundation)
- Presidential Scholar in the Arts (2011: White House Commission & Department of Education)
- Avery Fisher Career Grant-winner (2012: the Lincoln Center)
- Young Arts Gold Medal-Winner in music
- Gilmore Young Artist
Concert Repertoire:
Beautiful Melusine Overture, Op. 32 – Felix Mendelssohn
Symphony No. 31 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Over (Second Movement) – Conrad Tao
Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 16 – Sergei Prokofiev
Stephen A. Keller Guest Artist Series: Symphony of the Americas Presents Conrad Tao
Sponsors: Michael & Madelyn Savarick Global Outreach, John Knox Village
Pre-concert informational talk 30 minutes prior to performance with Lyn Farmer (Director: Veritage, Miami).
For more information call: 954-335-7002 or go to Symphony of the Americas website: www.sota.org.
Tickets available through the Broward Center for the Performing Arts AutoNation Box Office:
954-462-0222 or www.browardcenter.org.
For an interview with Conrad Tao contact Andrew Ousley at Unison Media
Call: 917-331-2337, email: andrew@unison.media
Celebrating its 30th performance season, The Symphony of the Americas is a Broward County Designated Major Cultural Institution and Broward Center for the Performing Arts is its performance home. Under the leadership of internationally acclaimed Artistic Director and Conductor, Maestro James Brooks-Bruzzese, the Symphony delights south Florida audiences with selections of the best classical music worldwide. For further information, please contact the Symphony of the Americas office at 954.335.7002, or go to: www.SOTA.org.
