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Press Releases
Internationally Renowned Piano Virtuoso Orli Shaham to Perform with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra April 24 & 25
Award Winning Maestro Ken Selden will lead the VSO in a program that features masterworks by Beethoven, Dvorak and Sibelius
[Vancouver, WA. March 16, 2021] – The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra welcomes back critically acclaimed pianist Orli Shaham for its next live streamed concert event on April 24 and 25. Ms. Shaham will perform Beethoven’s bright and lyrical Piano Concerto No. 2 in honor of the composer’s 250th anniversary year. Additionally, Maestro Ken Selden will lead the VSO in performances of Jean Sibelius’ rich and poignant Andante Festivo and Antonin Dvorak’s charming Serenade for Strings, one of composer’s most popular works to this day.
The April 24 & 25 performances will be Ms. Shaham’s third appearance with the VSO. Following her triumphant debut in 2014 performing Mozart’s Concerto for Two Pianos with NY pianist Igal Kesselman in front of sold-out houses, she returned by popular demand to present two critically acclaimed performances of Brahms’ Second Piano Concerto under the direction of Maestro Marcelo Lehninger in 2017.
The orchestra will be led by award-winning conductor Maestro Ken Selden. Maestro Selden made his Vancouver debut in the summer of 2018 and most recently led the orchestra in the 2020-21 season’s opening concert as well as the VSO’s Holiday Pops concert in December.
These performances will feature a reduced orchestra and will be streamed live from Skyview Concert Hall, hosted by OPB’s Steve Bass. The broadcast on Saturday, April 24 will begin at 6:30pm with the sixth installment of the celebrated VSO pre-concert show Da Capo, hosted by VSO Podcast host Ashley Johnson and VSO trombonist Greg Scholl. Intermission will feature special, not-to-be-missed interviews. The performance and the show on Sunday, April 25 will also be streamed live and will begin at 2:30pm.
A grand piano will be generously provided by Michelle’s Piano Co.
The previously scheduled appearance of Alexander Toradze and Maestro Brotons has been rescheduled to April 2022 due to COVID-19 restrictions.
What: Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 2 Live Stream
When: Saturday, April 24, 2021 at 7 p.m. (pre-concert show at 6:30pm) and Sunday, April 25, 2021 at 3 p.m. (pre-concert show at 2:30pm)
Where: Live streamed from Skyview Concert Hall to your viewing devices on the VSO website
Tickets: Free with season subscription. Single tickets are $30. Available online or by calling 360-735-7278
Program:
Sibelius Andante Festivo
Dvorák Serenade for Strings in E major, Op.22
Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 19
Tickets
All current season ticket holders will receive a secure email link in order to access the live stream performances.
Single tickets to view the live stream are on sale now. A secure email link will be emailed to each single ticket buyer.
Our tech support team will be on standby to assist you if you have any issues logging in during the performances.
Safety Precautions
Two physicians on the VSO Board of Directors–Dr. Michael Liu and Dr. David Smith–helped to develop the safety protocols for the musicians in coordination with the Washington Health Department.
Musicians will perform at an appropriate distance and wear face masks.
The size of the orchestra will be reduced to ensure appropriate distancing.
Future Performances
We are working closely with the Department of Health to monitor the latest COVID-19 developments and will be adjusting our season’s programming accordingly. Changes will be promptly communicated to the audience
About Orli Shaham
A consummate musician recognized for her grace, subtlety, and brilliance, Orli Shaham has established an impressive international reputation as one of today's most gifted pianists. Hailed by critics on four continents, Ms. Shaham admired for her interpretations of both standard and modern repertoire. The New York Times called her a "brilliant pianist," The Chicago Tribune referred to her as “a first-rate Mozartean” in a performance with the Chicago Symphony, and
London's Guardian said Ms. Shaham's playing at the Proms was “perfection."
Orli Shaham has performed with most of the major orchestras in the United States, and with many significant ensembles internationally, including the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre National de France, and Sydney Symphony Orchestra.
Ms. Shaham’s 2020-2021 season includes two solo recitals at Kaufman Music Center’s Merkin
Hall, performances with the Grand Rapids Symphony (Marcelo Lehninger conducting) and the
Detroit Symphony Orchestra (Jader Bignamini conducting), and appearances at the 2021
Bowdoin International Music Festival. She is in her 13th season as the Artistic Director for Pacific Symphony’s chamber music series in Costa Mesa, California, and is a featured performer on each of the chamber recitals throughout the series.
In October 2020, as part of her multi-year, multi-disc Mozart project on the Canary Classics label, Orli Shaham released the first of a five-volume set featuring the complete Mozart piano sonatas. Volumes 2 and 3 of this Mozart sonata cycle will be released in 2021. Ms. Shaham’s Mozart recording project began in 2019 with the release of piano concertos K.453 and K.491 with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, David Robertson conducting.
Her other recordings include “Brahms Inspired” and “American Grace” (Canary Classics). Orli Shaham and her brother, the violinist Gil Shaham, have collaborated on several recordings including “Nigunim - Hebrew Melodies”, “Dvorák for Two” on Deutsche Gramophone, an allProkofiev disc, and “Mozart in Paris” featuring Mozart’s Six Sonatas, Op. 1.
Ms. Shaham is Artistic Director for the interactive children's concert series, Orli Shaham’s Bach Yard, which she founded in 2010. The concert programs provide hands-on activities with musical instruments, concepts and concert performances that promote good listening skills, and feature chamber music performances by professional musicians with Ms. Shaham as host and pianist. During the spring and summer of 2020, Orli Shaham’s Bach Yard and Kaufman Music Center collaborated to create a 10- episode video series called “Playdates”.
In 2020, she was named as Regular Guest Host and Creative for NPR’s “From the Top”, the nationally broadcast radio program featuring performances and conversations with talented teenage musicians, after serving as guest host on several episodes in 2018 and 2019. In addition to her activities on stage, Ms. Shaham is on faculty at The Juilliard School, and serves on the juries of the Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2022, and the Honens International Piano Competition in 2021. She has previously served on the juries of the Cliburn International
Junior, New York International, Sydney International, Virginia Waring International and Hilton Head International piano competitions
About Ken Selden
Ken Selden is currently Conductor and Music Director of the Portland State University
Orchestra, a position he has held since 2006. Selden made his professional debut with the National Arts Center Orchestra (Canada) at the invitation of Pinchas Zuckerman, and has appeared with orchestras of Denver, Baltimore, Minnesota and North Carolina, and at music festivals in the United States, Israel, Japan, Romania, and Switzerland. He has performed with the Moscow Chamber Orchestra at the David Oistrakh Festival and conducted orchestras in Finland, Italy, and Belgium. Since arriving in Portland, Selden has appeared as guest conductor of the Oregon Symphony, Third Angle New Music Ensemble, Portland Youth Philharmonic, and the Newport Symphony. Selden has worked with composers Pierre Boulez, John Cage, and Tan Dun, and has conducted recent world premieres of music by Peter Lieberson, Michael Nyman, and Stephen Paulus. Under his direction, the PSU Orchestra has received three awards in Adventurous Programming from ASCAP and the League of American Orchestras.
About The VSO
The VSO, now in its 42nd season, has been a cornerstone of Southwest Washington's arts community, providing symphony music of the highest caliber in live performances and through music education in schools, concert halls, and throughout the community. For more information, please visit vancouversymphony.org.
About our Sponsors
The VSO is generously supported by individual donors, The M. J. Murdock Charitable Trust, All
Classical Portland, Oregon Public Broadcasting, The Community Foundation of Southwest
Washington, The Columbian, Homewood Suites, Dick Hannah Dealerships, ENT.Office.org, PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center Foundation, Propel Insurance, MedicareHelpNow, Opsahl Dawson CPAs, New Blueprint Partners, Realvest Corporation, and Michelle’s Piano Co.
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