Miller Theatre Opens Its 2021-22 Bach Series With Dinnerstein's GOLDBERG VARIATIONS

Miller Theatre at Columbia University School of the Arts opens its 2021-22 Bach series with the Goldberg Variations featuring pianist Simone Dinnerstein, Thursday, March 31, 8:00 PM, Miller Theatre (2960 Broadway at 116th Street). Tickets start at $35; Students with valid ID starting at $10.

From Miller Theatre Executive Director Melissa Smey: "We have collaborated with Simone Dinnerstein for over a decade, featuring her multi-faceted work as a musician, as the founder and leader of the ensemble Baroklyn, and as a curator. She is a thoughtful and gifted artist, whose performances always delight and inspire."

American pianist Simone Dinnerstein's self-produced recording of Bach's Goldberg Variations in 2007 brought her considerable attention. She has made twelve albums, all of which topped the Billboard classical charts, with repertoire ranging from Beethoven to Ravel. Her most recent album is Undersong (Orange Mountain Music, 2022), the third album she recorded during the pandemic.

The New York-based pianist's schedule has taken her around the world, playing with orchestras ranging from the New York Philharmonic and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra to the London Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale Rai, and the Havana Lyceum Orchestra, which she brought from Cuba to tour the United States for the very first time. She has also played in venues from Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center to the Berlin Philharmonie, the Vienna Konzerthaus, the Seoul Arts Center, and the Sydney Opera House. Performance highlights include Piano Concerto No. 3, a composition by Philip Glass for her that was co-commissioned by twelve American and Canadian orchestras; New Work for Goldberg Variations, a collaboration with choreographer Pam Tanowitz; and the premiere of André Previn and Tom Stoppard's Penelope at the Tanglewood, Ravinia, and Aspen music festivals, working with Renée Fleming and the Emerson String Quartet. Most recently, she created her own string ensemble, Baroklyn, which she directs from the keyboard. Their performance of Bach's cantata Ich Habe Genug in March 2020 filmed live at Miller Theatre and streamed to audiences was the last concert they gave before New York City shut down.

This season, Dinnerstein has taken on a number of new artistic challenges. She gave the world premiere of The Eye Is the First Circle at Montclair State University, the first multi-media production she has conceived, created, and directed, which uses as source materials her father Simon Dinnerstein's painting The Fulbright Triptych and Charles Ives's Piano Sonata No. 2 (Concord). She premiered Richard Danielpour's An American Mosaic, a tribute to those affected by the pandemic, in a performance on multiple pianos placed throughout Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery. She also performed the work live at Columbia University's Butler Library for Miller Theatre's Live from Columbia virtual concert series. She joins Renée Fleming, the Emerson String Quartet, and Uma Thurman for performances of André Previn and Tom Stoppard's Penelope at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center.

Dedicated to her community in Brooklyn, Dinnerstein founded Neighborhood Classics in 2009, a concert series that raises funds for music education programs in New York City schools, and Bachpacking, a music program for elementary schools. A graduate of The Juilliard School and the Manhattan School of Music, Dinnerstein is on the faculty of the Mannes School of Music.

The safety of audiences, staff, and musicians is important to Miller Theatre and to Columbia University. Miller Theatre will act to protect the health and safety of all personnel by following Columbia University, New York State, and New York City guidance and policies. All Miller Theatre events this season will be 75 minutes or less with no intermission to reduce congestion in lobby areas. We have added a mobile ticketing option to provide a seamless, contact-free entry.

In order to return to Miller Theatre, audiences must:

• Provide proof of full COVID-19 vaccination and a booster dose along with an accompanying ID
• Wear a disposable surgical mask, KN95 or KF94 mask at all times upon entering the doors of Miller Theatre (disposable surgical masks will be available upon arrival, if needed)
• Stay home if you don't feel well

Read the complete details of Miller's COVID-19 policies. All ticket buyers must agree to adhere to these policies during the ticket-buying process.

Learn more at millertheatre.com.