October 14, 2014
Sarasota Concert Association presents
Pianist Richard Ridenour
In a Munchtime Musicales Performance
November 19 § David Cohen Hall
(Sarasota, Florida) The Sarasota Concert Association’s free Munchtime Musicales series opens the 2014-2015 season with pianist Richard Ridenour in “Rags to Rich’s,” a concert celebrating American ragtime and jazz music, November 19, at noon, in David Cohen Hall at the Beatrice Friedman Symphony Center, 709 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. The concert, which will feature works by Scott Joplin, William Bolcom, Billy Joel, Ira Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein and Don Schlitz, is free and open to the public. For more information about Munchtime Musicales, call 941-351-7467, or visit www.scasarasota.org.
Hailed by critics as “a dazzling pianist,” Richard Ridenour has enjoyed a formidable career arranging and performing piano standards—from classical masterworks to American ragtime, jazz and rock. He serves as Dearborn Symphony Orchestra’s Pops conductor and has developed numerous educational programs in public schools around the nation. Ridenour and his wife, Stacy, also a concert pianist, moved to Sarasota in 2013. The couple recently teamed up with the Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County to create the “Sarasota Keys” public art project in which six colorfully painted pianos were placed at various downtown locations, inviting passersby to sit down and play. In this Munchtime Musicales concert, Ridenour’s wife will perform with him on a few duets for one piano, four-hands.
Munchtime Musicales is a series of free concerts featuring performances by high-caliber, area-based artists. The series is designed to offer a wide variety of musical genres, including classical, folk, and jazz, featuring both vocal and instrumental performers. The 2014-15 concert season continues with the Marc Mannino Jazz Quartet, featuring veteran jazz guitarist Marc Mannino performing with drummer Bob Lunergan, bassist Perry Orphanella, and saxophonist Rodney Rojas (December 10, 2014); Heqing Huang and Emily Charlson, two young Floridian pianists who took first and second place at the Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota’s 2014 Competition for Piano (January 21, 2015); Sarasota Mandolin Orchestra conducted by Paul Wolfe, co-founder of the Sarasota Music Festival (February 18, 2015); Studio Artists from the Sarasota Opera, Sarasota’s ambassadors of opera who bring this musical form to stages beyond the walls of the Sarasota Opera House (March 18, 2105); and the State College of Florida Chamber Choir, an 18-person vocal ensemble that performs repertoire spanning from Renaissance madrigals to contemporary jazz (April 8, 2015).
All performances are at noon at the Beatrice Friedman Symphony Center, 709 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. The series is free and open to the public. Seating is open; no reservations taken. For more information about Munchtime Musicales, call 941-351-7467 or visit www.scasarasota.org.
Sarasota Concert Association’s 2015 Great Performers Series at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall includes the return of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Pinchas Zukerman (January 14, 2015); the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center performing “Folk Inspirations” (January 26, 2015); the Dresden Philharmonic, led by Michael Sanderling, with cellist Johannes Moser (March 1, 2015); the Takács Quartet with pianist Joyce Yang (March 17, 2015); and celebrated pianist Murray Perahia (March 25, 2015). In February, the organization celebrates its 70th season with a special concert featuring renowned pianist/composer Dick Hyman (February 11, 2015).
Great Performers Series concerts are at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 North Tamiami Trail in Sarasota. Subscriptions for all five concerts are $155, $195, $235, and $265. Individual tickets are $40, $50, $60 and $70, and are available after November 1, 2014. Tickets for the series may be purchased by filling out an order form at http://scasarasota.org/pdf/appform.pdf or by calling 941-225-6500.
About the Sarasota Concert Association
The Sarasota Concert Association (SCA) is a not-for-profit organization that seeks to foster an appreciation for the musical arts by sponsoring professional presentations not otherwise available in the community. The SCA endeavors to set ticket fees as reasonably as possible, in order to make the performances available to a wide audience. It provides outreach to all members of the regional community by offering a series of free concerts, Munchtime Musicales, held from November through April every year. For more information about SCA, visit www.scasarasota.org.
