January 5, 2017 – InConcert Sierra will present an exhilarating start to the New Year with a performance by the Bay Area-based ZOFO piano four-hands ensemble that will bring “fireworks” to the Grass Valley stage Jan. 15, according to Artistic Director Ken Hardin.
ZOFO – which stands for 20 Finger Orchestra – features pianists Eva-Maria Zimmermann and Keisuke Nakagoshi. The duo’s performances have earned them a Grammy nomination, recognition as a Steinway Artist Ensemble, and accolades from the international music scene.
Their Jan. 15 concert in Grass Valley will feature a program that includes works by Leonard Bernstein, Harold Shapero, Claude Debussy and Igor Stravinsky.
“This program will bring fireworks at the keyboard, from Bernstein’s Candide Overture to Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring,” said Hardin. “It will truly be an experience for our audience.”
Zimmermann has appeared as a soloist in Europe and the United States. Her engagements have included recitals as well as concerto performances with major symphonies, such as the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. Winner of the prestigious Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholarship, Zimmermann has appeared at international festivals worldwide, including the “Festival Piano en Saintonge” in France, the “Sommerfestspiele Murten” in Switzerland and San Francisco’s “Other Minds Festival of New Music.” As an educator, she has been a faculty member of the University of San Francisco and currently teaches in the music program at the Nueva School in Hillsborough, California, founded by Sir Yehudi Menuhin.
Nakagoshi began his piano studies at the age of 10, arriving in the United States from Japan at the age of 18. He earned his Bachelors degree in Composition and Masters degree in Chamber Music from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Graduating as the recipient of multiple top awards, Nakagoshi was selected to represent the SFCM for the Kennedy Center’s Conservatory Project, a program featuring the most promising young musicians from major conservatories across the United States. He has performed to acclaim on prestigious concert stages across the United States, including at the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, and Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco. Nakagoshi is Pianist-in-Residence at The San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the award winning Opera Parallele.
Experience live what the Washington Post described as “…feisty performances surge with athletic precision, joy.” In addition, the pianists’ hands will be projected above the stage for everyone to see the action on the keyboard.
Tickets to the 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 15 concert are $34. There are a limited number of youth passes for those 5-17, available for free with the purchase of a general admission ticket. To arrange for youth tickets, please call InConcert Sierra directly at 530-273-3990. All general admission tickets are available by phone at 530-273-3990, online at www.inconcertsierra.org (ticketing fees may apply) and in person at BriarPatch Co-op or at the door on the day of the concert.
There will be a 1:15 p.m. pre-concert forum featuring InConcert Sierra board member Aileen James who will interview Zimmermann and Nakagoshi, and include questions from the audience. The concert will be at the Seventh-day Adventist Church, 12889 Osborne Hill Road, Grass Valley. For more information, please visit www.inconcertsierra.org
WHO: InConcert Sierra presents
WHAT: ZOFO piano four-hands ensemble
WHEN: 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 15, 2017
WHERE: 12889 Osborne Hill Road, Grass Valley (Seventh-day Adventist Church)
TICKETS: $34 general admission, available at 530-273-3990, www.inconcertsierra.org, BriarPatch Co-op or at the door on the day of the concert
INFO: 530-273-3990, www.inconcertsierra.org