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Piano on the Rocks Fourth International Festival

2018 Piano on the Rocks performers.                               Photo courtesy Janise Witt.

Sedona AZ – In its fourth year, the 2019 Piano on the Rocks International Festival is bringing renowned international artists and competition winners to Sedona. Held in two Sedona churches free of charge, this April event is a continuation of the 2016 initiative of Duo MusicAleph, with Sandrine Erdely-Sayo and Elizabeth Peña, who share in-common passions for music, literature, poetry and the city of Sedona.         

Now serving respectively as Piano on the Rocks Artistic Director and as co-Director, pianist Erdely-Sayo and festival narrator Peña founded their first weekend venue with three guest pianists. Now able to attract well known composers and singers, the 2019 Piano on the Rocks welcomes its second student guest artist while remaining true to its mission, to create a fusion between music and literature for audiences.

Offering a wealth of variety, the 2019 repertoire will include compositions from the eighteenth through the twentieth centuries with a cross section of compositions by Domenico Scarlatti and Festival guest composers. Audiences will hear renowned musicians perform works by Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin, Debussy, Liszt and Garcia Lorca, as well as, the Piano Sonata for two pianos by Poulenc and Rossini’s charming Cat Duet.

Piano on the Rocks founders, pianist Erdely-Sayo and festival narrator Pena welcome former and new guest artists to the 2019 Piano on the Rocks International Festival in Sedona AZ.

This year, five performers known to Sedona audiences from previous festivals will return: Portuguese pianist Vasco Dantas, winner of several international competitions; American pianist Cynthia Raim, first place victory in the Clara Haskil International Competition; French American pianist Sandrine Erdely-Sayo, youngest recipient of the French Minister of Culture Award; event narrator Elizabeth Peña, member of Duo MusicAleph; and, soprano Barbara Di Toro. Three new artists to the 2019 festival are mezzo soprano Carla Dirlikov Canales, composer Anna Rubin, and composer Andrew Rudin.

Canales has performed with opera companies and orchestras and has been recognized as an arts and culture advocate, including her work with the U.S. State Department, the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities and the Culture Summit Abu Dhabi.

Often inspired by nature, composer Rubin has been active in electronic music and her work can be heard under the labels Seamus and Nema. In addition to two recent awards by the Maryland State Arts Council, Rubin has been honored multiple times by both the Ohio Arts Council and the New York Foundation for the Arts. Her work “For the Love of Bees” celebrates the centuries-long interdependence of humans and bees and will be featured at this festival.

Composer Andrew Rudin has been an important presence in the contemporary scene and received the American Academy of Arts & Letters Music Award in May 2018. Piano on the Rocks will celebrate Rudin’s 80th birthday during the festival. The 2019 festival is thrilled to bring performers of this caliber.

The Festival will open on April 26, 2019, at the Church of the Red Rocks under a beautiful sunset at 5:00 in the evening. This concert is free. Two subsequent concerts will be held at the Sedona United Methodist Church on April 27 and 28 at 3:00 in the afternoon. While these performances are also free, a $20 donation is appreciated.

Visit www.PianoontheRocks.org for a complete program description and more information.

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2 Comments

  1. Jacqueline, in Uptown says:

    looking forward to this event now thanks

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