Saturday at 7:30 PM – 9 PM
Central Presbyterian Church
593 Park Ave, New York, New York 10065

The Poiema Artists series is excited to present Sean Kennard (Piano) and Nicholas Tavani (Violin) in concert on Saturday, April 22nd at 7:30pm. Come out for a beautiful concert that will feature musice of Prokofiev, Bryant, and Fauré.

Date: April 22nd. 2017 (Saturday)
Time: 7:30pm
Doors open at 7pm. Free Admission.

Venue: Central Presbyterian Church
593 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10065
(at the corner of E64th Street and Park Avenue)

Bio:
Sean Kennard

Sean Kennard, half Japanese, has won top prizes in the Queen Elisabeth Competition (Belgium), the International Music Competition of Viña del Mar (Chile), the Vendome International Piano Competition (Portugal), the Sendai International Music Competition (Japan), the Hilton Head International Piano Competition (USA), the National Chopin Competition, the Iowa Piano Competition, the American Pianists Association, and the International Chopin Competition of the Pacific.

The Washington Post praised Kennard’s “powerful and involved music making,” describing him as “a strong luminous pianist.” His 2011 debut album received a rave review in American Record Guide, which pronounced it “a hidden gem,” attesting to its “perfect blend of lyricism and romantic passion,” “huge romantic sound, and bold melodic vision.” It proclaimed that he “plays the dickens out of the Stravinsky [Three Movements from Petrushka]” and “plays Chopin’s Preludes with more poise and vision than most pianists who have recorded them.” Fanfare affirmed the enthusiastic reception, naming the album “a very desirable disc” and citing “Kennard’s mastery of Chopin’s idiom,” its “impression of complete effortlessness” and “emotional responsiveness.” The review characterized his playing as “full of life and sparkle,” summing up: “while I wouldn’t necessarily say that Kennard outclasses Ashkenazy, Rubinstein, Moravec, Ohlsson…in this repertoire, he surely equals them.” His most recent disc featuring sonatas of Domenico Scarlatti was released by Naxos in 2017.

Kennard has appeared as soloist with such orchestras as the Prague Radio Symphony, NHK Chamber Orchestra (Japan), Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, Osaka Symphony Orchestra, Yamagata Symphony Orchestra, Sendai Philharmonic, Kyushu Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre National de Belgique, Orchestre Royal de Chambre (Belgium), Chamber Orchestra of Frankfurt (Germany), Orchestre Philharmonique du Maroc (Morocco), Orquesta Sinfonica de Chile, Orquesta Filarmónica de Montevideo, Orquesta Sinfonica Regional (Uruguay), Sinfonia Perugina (Italy), Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional (Dominican Republic), New Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra, Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra and the orchestras of Charleston, Sioux City, Hilton Head, and Honolulu.

He has appeared in recital and chamber music in such venues as Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium, Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater, Salle Cortot (Paris), Palais des Beaux-arts and Theatre Royal de la Monnaie (Brussels), Gulbenkian Foundation (Lisbon), Chopin Society (Warsaw), Teatro Caio Melisso (Spoleto), Sala dei Notari (Perugia), Tokyo Opera City Hall, Yomiuri Otemachi Hall (Tokyo), Yamaha Hall (Tokyo), Seoul Arts Center, Hong Kong City Hall, Mohamed V Theater (Morocco), and Teatro del Lago (Chile).

Recent and upcoming engagements include: solo appearances with the Prague Radio Symphony (Rachmaninoff’s Concerto No. 2), Dominican Republic’s National Symphony (Tchaikovsky’s Concerto No. 1), Montevideo Philharmonic (Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini) and the Hawaii Symphony (Liszt’s Concerto in E-flat major), recitals and master classes in Japan, Uruguay, California, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, New Jersey, New York, and Nevada.

Sean’s first teacher was Ellen Masaki. He received a Bachelor of Music from the Curtis Institute of Music in 2004. In his final year at Curtis he won the institute’s Sergei Rachmaninoff Award, given to one graduating pianist each year. After subsequent work with pianist Enrique Graf he received a Master of Music from the Juilliard School (studios of Jerome Lowenthal and Robert McDonald) and spent the following two years in the studio of Richard Goode. In 2016 he completed the residential portion of the Doctor of Musical Arts degree program at Yale University working with Boris Berman and joined the faculty at Stetson University in 2017.

Nicholas Tavani

Lauded by the Washington Post for his “brilliant musicianship,” violinist Nicholas Tavani debuted in Washington, D.C.’s Gaston Hall at the age of eight. As a chamber musician, recitalist, and concerto soloist, Mr. Tavani has performed extensively to critical acclaim in the United States and around the world. As first violinist of the Aeolus Quartet, he was a winner of the 2011 Plowman International Chamber Music Competition, the 2011 Yellow Springs Chamber Music competition, and the 2009 Coleman International Chamber Music Competition. He is also a laureate of the Postacchini and Kingsville International Violin Competitions.

A passionate advocate of new music, Mr. Tavani has premiered and recorded several works by living composers, including Samuel Adler, Alexandra Bryant, Christopher Theofanidis, and Dan Visconti. His discography includes two albums with the Aeolus Quartet in wide release on the Longhorn/Naxos label. Performances with orchestra include the Aspen Festival Orchestra, Prince William Symphony, Little River Symphony, Masterworks Festival Orchestra, Austin Chamber Music Festival Orchestra, CIM Chamber Orchestra, and many others. Collaborations include Peter Salaff, Ieva Jokubaviciute, Daxun Zhang, and Michael Tree.

Mr. Tavani’s current season includes sonata performances at the Phillips Collection in Washington DC and WCR Concert Hall in New York, concertos in Virginia and Massachusetts, extensive touring across the US and Canada with the Aeolus Quartet, and serving as teaching assistant to the Juilliard Quartet at the Juilliard School, where the Aeolus Quartet is currently Graduate Quartet in Residence. An alumnus of the Cleveland Institute of Music, Nicholas studied violin with William Preucil and chamber music with Peter Salaff and the Cavani Quartet. In addition to a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance from CIM, Nicholas also studied mathematical physics at Case Western Reserve University.