We conclude our season in a suitably grand fashion with a program that celebrates place and spirit. The place is one of the most singular on earth - the Grand Canyon. Ferde Grofe said of his Grand Canyon Suite, “This composition was born of sight, sound and sensations common to all of us. I think I have spoken of America in this music simply because America spoke to me, just as it has spoken to you and to every one of us.”
We are happy to present Gershwin’s fabulous Piano Concerto in F, with our close musical friend, the virtuosic Elizabeth Dorman. If Grofe represents the beauty of place, Gershwin’s represents, as he said “the young, enthusiastic spirit of American life.”
We open the program with The Creation of the World, Milhuad’s response to American jazz. Milhaud finished his career teaching at Mills College in Oakland and Music academy of the West where he taught Dave Brubeck and Burt Bacharach.
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Praised by the San Francisco Chronicle for her “elegance and verve,” pianist Elizabeth Dorman enjoys performing music both new and old as a soloist and chamber musician. She has been presented as a soloist and chamber musician at venues including the Kennedy Center, Davies Symphony Hall, Herbst Theater, Merkin Hall, Carnegie’s Weill Hall, Leipzig’s Hochschule für Musik, and her live solo performances have been nationally broadcast on NPR.