World-renowned pianist will perform Florence Price’s “Piano Concerto in One Movement” alongside Johns Creek Symphony Orchestra.
Johns Creek Symphony Orchestra is proud to present an evening of elegance with their concert “Center Stage Rhapsodies” on Saturday, February 3 at 7:30 p.m. at Johns Creek United Methodist Church, 11180 Medlock Bridge Road Johns Creek, GA 30097. The concert will include William Grant Still’s “Festive Overture,” Florence Price’s “Piano Concerto in One Movement,” and Antonín Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9 “From the New World.” Tickets for the concert range from $20-$50 and are available for purchase online, via phone, and at the door.
Award-winning pianist and conductor Awadagin Pratt will join the orchestra on piano, showcasing his impeccable ear and admirable artistry. Pratt will be the featured soloist in JCSO’s performance of Florence Price’s “Piano Concerto in One Movement.” Price is well recognized as the first African American woman to be a symphonic composer, and her “Piano Concerto in One Movement” is a powerful piece that offers the audience three interweaving sections of varying tempos and moods. The JCSO is excited to be joined by Pratt to perform this piece on the JCSO stage.
Among other powerful pieces, the JCSO will perform Antonín Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9 “From the New World,” which is based upon Dvořák’s experience traveling in America. In a concert experience that captures the heart and soul of prominent American composers as well as symphonies about the American experience, “Center Stage Rhapsodies” will elegantly speak to audiences across Johns Creek.
“JCSO is excited to perform this concert, which considers the construct of American music through a variety of different lenses,” said Linda Brill, Executive Director of the Johns Creek Symphony Orchestra. “Awadagin Pratt is an extraordinary musician, and we are thrilled that he is joining us for this concert,” she added.
About Awadagin Pratt
Since launching onto the international stage after winning the prestigious Naumburg International Piano Competition in 1992 and receiving a 1994 Avery Fisher Career Grant, Awadagin has received acclaim for delivering “forceful, imaginative, and precisely tinted” performances (Washington Post) and is hailed as “one of the great and distinctive American pianists and conductors of our time” (WGBH). He has performed at the White House at the invitation of the Clinton and Obama administrations, on Sesame Street at the invitation of Big Bird, and at many other world-famous stages across six continents.
Awadagin’s commitment to ushering in the next generation of agile, creative, and inventive pianists is evidenced by his work as founding director of the Next Generation Festival, the Art of the Piano Foundation, and the Nina Simone Piano Competition, a new biennial competition that celebrates diversity in classical music by showcasing the tremendous talents of young Black pianists. He has adjudicated the Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition, Cleveland International Piano Competition, Minnesota e-Competition, Unisa International Piano Competition, and the International Competition for Young Pianists created in memory of Vladimir Horowitz.
Awadagin is now Professor of Piano at the San Francisco Conservatory. He remains the only graduate of the Peabody Institute to earn performance certificates in three areas — violin, piano, and conducting — and has received the Distinguished Alumni Award from Johns Hopkins University and honorary doctorates from Illinois Wesleyan University, Susquehanna University, and the Boston Conservatory.
