FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Sarah Snyder
ssnyder3@umd.edu
301.405.8151
March 26, 2013 – College Park, MD – Acclaimed jazz pianist Brad Mehldau and singer/mandolin virtuoso Chris Thile perform as a duo in an evening of classical transcriptions, pop covers and original songs April 12 at 8pm at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center.
These two groundbreaking young American musicians are inspired by a wide range of composers and songwriters, from Bach to Radiohead, and the duo will explore the intricacies of form and improvisation via a variety of their favorite tunes and original compositions.
About Brad Mehldau
Jazz pianist Brad Mehldau is first and foremost an improviser who cherishes the surprise and wonder that can occur from a spontaneous musical idea expressed directly, in real time. But he also has a deep fascination for the formal architecture of music.
His forays into melding musical idioms, in both trio (with Larry Grenadier on bass and Jeff Ballard on drums) and solo settings, has seen brilliant re-workings of songs by contemporary songwriters like The Beatles, Cole Porter, Radiohead, Paul Simon, George and Ira Gershwin, and Nick Drake, alongside the ever evolving breadth of his own significant catalogue of original compositions. With his affection for popular music and classical training, Mehldau has become, according to the Los Angeles Times, “universally admired as one of the most adventurous pianists to arrive on the jazz scene in years.”
About Chris Thile
Chris Thile, of Punch Brothers, has changed the mandolin forever, elevating it from its origins as a relatively simple folk and bluegrass instrument to the sophistication and brilliance of the finest jazz improvisation and classical performance. For more than 15 years, Thile played in the wildly popular band Nickel Creek, with whom he released three albums and sold two million records and was awarded a Grammy in 2002.
Recently, Thile collaborated with Yo-Yo Ma for The Goat Rodeo Sessions. As a soloist he has released four albums, as well as performing and recording extensively as a duo with double bass virtuoso Edgar Meyer and with fellow eminent mandolinist Mike Marshall. He has also played with artists like Béla Fleck, Mark O’Connor, Aoife O’Donovan, Dolly Parton and the Dixie Chicks. Thile is a 2012 MacArthur Fellow.
Tickets
More information can be found on our web site. Tickets for this performance are $35/$10 (Regular/Students), and can be purchased online or by calling (301) 405-ARTS (2787).
###
About The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at UMD
The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at the University of Maryland is a collaborative space shared by the School of Music (SOM), the School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies (TDPS) and the Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library. The Clarice Smith Center presents performances and programs by visiting artists as well as by students and faculty of SOM and TDPS in an environment of creative learning, exploration and growth. A national model for a performing arts center on a major research university campus, the Center enables innovative partnerships and extraordinary experiences.
This performance is made possible, in part, by the Patricia C. Solomon Fund for Piano.
The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center is supported by a grant from the Maryland State Arts Council, an agency dedicated to cultivating a vibrant cultural community where the arts thrive. An agency of the Department of Business & Economic Development, the MSAC provides financial support and technical assistance to nonprofit organizations, units of government, colleges and universities for arts activities. Funding for the Maryland State Arts Council is also provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.