Come April 25, 2009, at 5:00 pm, highly acclaimed international concert pianist David Phillips, will perform the works of Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, and Chopin, as the featured artist at the Rites of Spring - Great Performers Series. The venue is one of West Village's oldest landmarks with the majestically striking Queen Anne Style architecture of 1881, replete with stunning Tiffany Style windows and acoustical qualities that envelopes intimate clarity and warmth with intensity in remembrance. The Manhattan Seventh-day Adventist Church is located at 232 W 11th St. between Waverly Place and West 4th St. it is exactly one short block and a half away from 7th Avenue, going west.
Among David Phillips critical acclaim is The New York Times review which read, "Mr. Phillips gave his account a distinctly Mozartean accent, with a light touch, a tone that alternated between crystalline and gentle singing, as needed, with currents of courtly elegance and playful subversion intertwined. Mr. Phillips has thought long and hard and cares deeply about what he plays, and he has much to say that is provocative and moving....Perhaps his most important gift is a clarity and soundness of expression, which compels a listener to re-think familiar pieces in new ways."
Mr. Phillips recently traveled to Yerevan, Armenia on a tour sponsored by the U.S. State Department where he made a debut appearance with the Armenian Philharmonic performing The Grieg Piano Concerto. He also gave a solo recital where he performed J.S. Bach's Goldberg Variations at Komitas Chamber Music Hall and taught Master classes at the Sayat Nova Music Academy.
His international and local concert jaunts include performances with The London Philharmonic; The San Antonio Symphony; The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and The St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra; as soloist with the Dubrovnik Symphony followed by a solo recital and led master classes in Zagreb, Croatia; a solo recital at the Trinity Concert Series in New York City; a recital at the Donnell Library Concert Series New York City; as soloist with the Key West Pops Orchestra in Key West, Florida under Vincent Zitto, performing Gershwin's Concerto in F; a solo recital on the Old First Concert Series in San Francisco; and a debut performance at New York's Carnegie Hall.
Concert engagements aside, Mr. Phillips also teaches what he hopes would be New York City's future concert pianists to the world. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and New York City's Juilliard School of Music.
Dr. Victor Dyman, Pastor of the Manhattan Seventh-Day Adventist Church said, "The Rites of Spring - Great Performers Series is a community service endeavor of the Manhattan Seventh-day Adventist Church, which include after school programs like voice, violin, and piano lessons, math tutorials from pre-k to advanced calculus levels, free marriage counseling, wellness and lifestyle modification strategies, as well as spiritual enrichment programs." For those who are able, a free will donation of $20.00 will be appreciated of which proceeds will go towards various church renovation projects. Light vegan faire will be served after the concert.
