Pianists Soyeon Kate Lee and Ran Dank Commence Portland Ovations' RITE OF SPRING SERIES, 11/1

Portland Ovations begins its Centennial Celebration of Merrill Auditorium and Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring" with a performance by pianists Soyeon Kate Lee and Ran Dank on November 1 at 7:30pm at Merrill Auditorium.

Soyeon Kate Lee (from Korea) and Ran Dank (from Israel) have received many awards and accolades in their young careers, including taking the top two prizes at the prestigious 2010 Naumberg International Piano Competition. These youthful and talented artists make their Portland Ovations debut with a program that features several works for two pianos that will include, Darius Milhaud's Sacramouche, Claude Debussy's Nocturnes and Maurice Ravel's La Valse. The program will conclude with Soyeon Kate Lee and Ran Dank performing Stravinsky's Rite of Spring in the not-often performed four-hand arrangement (one piano, two musicians). Rooted in the complex, compelling musical life of late 19th and early 20th century Paris, this program of musical gems highlights how the composers' personalities and music are interlinked but remain very different.

Ovations Offstage offers several activities and events that correspond with this performance beginning with a pre-performance lecture at 6:30pm on November 1st in The Green Room, at Merrill Auditorium where Bates College's Alice Swanson Etsy Professor of Music, Bill Matthews, will use both audio and video excerpts to demonstrate the revolutionary challenges posed by these works to Western traditions. Following the performance, patrons are invited to join Portland Ovations and the artists on the Merrill stage for a post-performance reception to commence Portland Ovations' season long "Rite of Spring" Series. On Friday, November 2nd Ran Dank will conduct a Piano Masterclass with USM piano students at The University of Southern Maine School of Music in Gorham. For more information on Ovations Offstage events please contact Ovations Offstage at 207.773.3150 or by email at offstage@portlandovations.org.

Related Links

Marin Alsop Leads Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in Orff's Carmina Burana, 6/6-6/9 May 17, 2013

Marin Alsop Leads BSO, Morgan State Choir & Peabody Children's Chorus in Carmina Burana, June 6-9 May 15, 2013

The Virginia Arts Festival Announces The Rite of Spring: 100th Anniversary Performance, 5/29 May 14, 2013

Pacific Symphony Announces THE RITE OF SPRING Events, Now thru 6/8 May 13, 2013

BWW Reviews: THE RIOT OF SPRING, Tramway, Glasgow, May 10 2013 by Natalie O'Donoghue - May 11, 2013