Opus Two With Special Guest Elena Shaddow Will Celebrate Sondheim at Feinstein's/54 Below

The acclaimed Opus Two violin-piano duo returns to Feinstein's/54 Below for an unforgettable 90th birthday tribute to Stephen Sondheim featuring the New York premiere of A Little Night Music: Suite for Violin and Piano and Bernstein's Four Moments from Candide, both arranged by veteran Broadway director Eric Stern, and Somewhere from West Side Story, arr. Raimundo Penaforte. Special guest Broadway vocalist Elena Shaddow will join the duo in Two House Songs: My House, from Peter Pan and Take Care of this House, from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, and Sondheim's I Remember, from Evening Primrose, also arranged by Stern. Eric Stern, who will host the evening, is a Broadway conductor, arranger, and music supervisor with 19 Broadway musicals to his credit. The concert begins at 7:00pm (doors open at 5:00pm) at 54 Below, 254 W 54th St., New York. Tickets: $40.00 - 50.00, premium $80.00. $25.00 food & beverage min. are available at www.54below.com

Critics have recognized Opus Two, made up of violinist William Terwilliger and pianist Andrew Cooperstock for its "divine phrases, impelling rhythm, elastic ensemble, and stunning sounds," as well as its commitment to expanding the violin-piano duo repertoire. Following their long tradition of championing the works of great American composers, Opus Two recorded works of George Gershwin that reviewers called an "excellent" recording. The recording, featuring Ashley Brown, is the newest addition to Opus Two's growing discography of American music which includes CDs dedicated to the works of Paul Schoenfield, Aaron Copland, Lowell liebermann, and their debut recording on the Naxos label, Leonard Bernstein: Violin Sonata; Piano Trio; New Transcriptions with the late Marin Mazzie. In celebration of Bernstein's centennial, Cooperstock recently released Leonard Bernstein: Complete Solo Works for Piano which was praised by Arts Fuse, "if there's an essential Leonard Bernstein at 100 album, this is the one; with excellent performances of relatively unknown music deserving to be heard." Cooperstock served as Artistic Director of the University of Colorado, Boulder's Bernstein at 100 festival.

Highlights of recent seasons include two twenty-city US tours across eleven states; performances with the Boulder Chamber Orchestra; and a European tour which featured the duo in recital and as concerto soloists in Nice, Monaco, Bern and Geneva, and as invited guests of the US Ambassadors to Switzerland and the United Nations. Festival appearances include the Australian Festival of Chamber Music (Queensland), Piccolo Spoleto (South Carolina), Brevard Music Festival (North Carolina), Round Top International Festival-Institute (Texas), Vianden International Music Festival (Luxembourg), Hell Hot! New Music Festival (Hong Kong), Saarburg International Music Festival (Germany), and Classical Music Festival (Austria).

Elena Shadow, recognized for her astounding nightingale vocals, has appeared on Broadway, off-Broadway, toured nationally and performed in concert venues including London's Royal Albert Hall, the Fox Theatre in St. Louis and New Jersey's Paper Mill Playhouse. On television she was prominently featured as Sister Sophia in NBC's The Sound of Music Live! She has also appeared on CBS's NCIS: New Orleans, Conviction, Person of Interest, ABC's Time After Time and Warner Brothers Films' The Intern.

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