SEPTEMBER 2014

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Lexington, VA -- Cellist Alan Harrell makes his SonoKlect debut in a recital of exciting compositions from the past one hundred years. Joining him is pianist Brad Blackham, making his third concert appearance in Lexington. The recital will take place in Washington and Lee’s Wilson Hall at 8pm on Saturday September27th. It is free and open to the public. A reception follows the performance, offering the audience a chance to meet and greet the performers and one another.

The concert will include the premiere of “The Dance of Dionysus,” a brand new work by WLU’s Professor of Music, Terry Vosbein. This delightfully wicked waltz, befitting the god of wine and pleasure, was composed over the summer for Harrell and Blackham, two of Vosbein’s classmates at the Cleveland Institute of Music.

Alan Harrell has been a distinguished member of The Cleveland Orchestra since 1995. In great demand as both performer and teacher, he most recently played concerti with the Hunan Symphony Orchestra, the Spartanburg Philharmonic, and the Masterworks Festival Orchestra. He also performed numerous solo recitals and chamber music concerts around the country. Of a 2010 performance in West Palm Beach, The Palm Beach Arts Paper wrote that “Harrell brought a large, intense tonal quality to the playing of this flashy showpiece.” In a review of the Elgar Cello Concerto, CoolCleveland.com said “Harrell did not disappoint, and played with the skill, expression, and emotion that one would expect to hear from such an accomplished professional.”

Pianist Brad Blackham has been Artist/Teacher of piano and director of keyboard studies at Hillsdale College since 2005. He has performed with the Cleveland Orchestra with concerts given at Severance Hall, Blossom Music Center, and Carnegie Hall. He has also performed with the Pittsburgh Symphony, including concerts at Carnegie Hall, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Musikverein in Vienna, and the Barbican Centre in London. He is currently the Principal Keyboardist with the Jackson Symphony in Michigan and has served as Principal Keyboardist with the Akron and Canton Symphony Orchestras in Ohio.

In addition to the Vosbein premiere, the recital will include Claude Debussy’s gorgeous Cello Sonata, a Tango by that Argentinian master Astor Piazzolla, and an adventurous sonata by the Russian Nikolai Kapustin. Also on the program are “Capriccio” by Lukas Foss and the 1950 “Pampeana” by Alberto Ginastera



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