Pianist Orli Shaham Will Join Grand Rapids Symphony to Launch New Series THE PIANISTS

Pianist Orli Shaham, a 1995 Gilmore Young Artist of the Irving S. Gilmore International Keyboard Festival, will join the Grand Rapids Symphony in April 2020 to launch a new series, The Pianists. The series, created by GRS Music Director Marcelo Lehninger, includes concerts entirely devoted to the piano, both as a solo instrument and with orchestra.

Shaham, whose last appearance with the Grand Rapids Symphony included a performance of Beethoven's Choral Fantasy for Piano and Orchestra in April 2017, is an internationally acclaimed pianist hailed by critics on four continents. Shaham steps in for the previously announced pianist 2006 Gilmore Artist Ingrid Fliter. The Argentinean pianist has withdrawn from the concert on the advice of her physician, who recommended she not fly during her pregnancy.

Shaham will perform Beethoven's 32 Variations in C minor composed for solo piano. She'll join Lehninger and the Grand Rapids Symphony for Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K466, and for Schumann's Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 54 at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 19, 2020, in DeVos Performance Hall in Grand Rapids. The concert is a special event lead-in to the 2020 Gilmore International Keyboard Festival in West Michigan. Tickets for the one-night-only concert start at $18 for adults and are available from the Grand Rapids Symphony. $5 student tickets are also available.
Shaham has performed with nearly all of the major orchestras in the world, notably with the symphony orchestras of Boston, Chicago, Cleveland and Philadelphia and the Los Angeles Philharmonic; and internationally with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestre National de France and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, among others.

Her most recent recording is of Mozart's Piano Concertos No. 17 in G major, K. 453, and No. 24 in C minor, K. 491, with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and conductor David Robertson.

Since 2007, Shaham has served as Artistic Director for Pacific Symphony's Chamber Music Series in Costa Mesa, California. She also is Artistic Director for the interactive children's concert series Orli Shaham's Bach Yard (formerly Baby Got Bach), which she founded in 2010.

Shaham, who is on the faculty of The Juilliard School, is a host of National Public Radio's "From The Top," a show dedicated to showcasing young, classically trained musicians.

Tickets

Tickets for The Pianists start at $18 adults, available by calling the GRS ticket office at (616) 454-9451 ext. 4. Phone orders will be charged a $3 per ticket handling fee ($18 maximum per order). There are no fees for tickets purchased in person at the GRS ticket office at 300 Ottawa Ave. NW, Suite 100, (located across the street from Calder Plaza). Ticket office hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Tickets are available at the DeVos Place box office, weekdays 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. or on the day of the concert beginning two hours prior to the performance. Tickets may be purchased online at GRSymphony.org.

Full-time students of any age can purchase tickets for $5 on day of the concert by enrolling in the GRS Student Tickets program, sponsored by Calvin University. Discounts also are available to members of MySymphony360, the Grand Rapids Symphony's organization for young professionals ages 21-35.
Students age 7-18 also are able to attend for free when accompanied by an adult. Free for Kids tickets must be purchased in advance at the GRS Ticket office. Up to two free tickets are available with the purchase of a regular-price adult ticket. Go online for more details.

Symphony Scorecard provides members up to four free tickets for most Grand Rapids Symphony concerts. Members of the community receiving financial assistance from the State of Michigan and members of the U.S. Armed Forces, whether on active or reserve duty or serving in the National Guard, are eligible. Go online for information on signing up with a Symphony Scorecard Partner Agency.

Organized in 1930, the Grand Rapids Symphony is nationally recognized for the quality of its concerts, the breadth of its educational programs, and the innovation of its initiatives to support diversity, equity and inclusion as well as to serve the wider community in non-traditional settings. Led by Music Director Marcelo Lehninger, Principal Pops Conductor Bob Bernhardt and Associate Conductor John Varineau, the Grand Rapids Symphony presents nine concert series each year. Its Gateway to Music provides a matrix of 18 unique access and educational programs for adults and children of all ages. Altogether, West Michigan's largest performing arts organization offers more than 400 performances per year, touching the lives of some 200,000, nearly half of whom are students, senior citizens or people with disabilities. Affiliated organizations include the Grand Rapids Symphony Chorus, the Grand Rapids Youth Symphony, the Grand Rapids Symphony Youth Chorus, and the biennial Grand Rapids Bach Festival, which returns in April 2021. GRS collaborates annually with Opera Grand Rapids and Grand Rapids Ballet and biennially with the Gilmore Keyboard Festival in Kalamazoo.

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