Amelia Island Musical Festival announces four upcoming concerts

Amelia Island Music Festival
Press Release
Contact: Joe Marasco
Executive Director
April 15, 2018 4:00 p.m.

An Acclaimed Pianist, A Thrilling Trio and Promising Music Students
Featured in Four Upcoming Concerts at the Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival

The Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival will offer a cavalcade of great classical works at four very special performances on April 22, 24, 26 and 27. Tickets for these exciting performances and the Closing Gala of the 2018 season on April 29 are available at www.aicmf.com or by calling 904-261-1779.

The April 22 and 26 concerts feature the Beth Newdome Fellowship Artists, composed of outstanding music students from the nation’s premier conservatories. These promising young musicians are mentored by acclaimed pianist Wendy Chen. Part of the Festival’s educational outreach, the 2018 Newdome ensemble includes Eleanor Dunbar, violin; Steven Juarez, viola; and Elizabeth White, cello.

The April 22 performance, which includes works of Beethoven, Dohnányi and Brahms will be held at 5:00 PM at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, 2600 Atlantic Avenue in Fernandina Beach. The April 26 concert, the Festival’s free Seniors Concert, features solo performances of romantic and virtuoso classics by each artist and will start at 1:00 PM at Savannah Grand of Amelia Island, 1900 Amelia Trace Court in Fernandina Beach.

On April 24, acclaimed pianist Sam Haywood will perform music of Schumann, Mendelssohn, Stanford, Rachmaninoff, Chopin, and a series of Mr. Haywood’s own works. Sam Haywood has performed to critical acclaim in many of the world’s major concert halls. The Washington Post has hailed his “dazzling, evocative playing” and the New York Times his “passionate flair and sparkling clarity.” He performs a wide spectrum of the piano repertoire and is equally at home as a soloist, chamber musician and accompanist. Mr. Haywood has established a regular duo partnership with renowned violinist Joshua Bell since 2010 and often performs with acclaimed cellist Steven Isserlis.

This April 24 performance will be held at Amelia Baptist Church, 961167 Buccaneer Trail in Fernandina Beach starting at 7:30 PM.

The dazzling trio of Chee-Yun, Andres Diaz and Wendy Chen will perform works of Menotti, Ravel and Mendelssohn on April 27. Performing with the trio will be the Beth Newdome Fellowship Artists, former Newdome artists Julia Brandenberg (violin) and Nina Bledsoe (viola), in addition to cellist Christopher Rex, the Festival’s general and artistic director.

Violinist Chee-Yun, winner of the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant in 1990, performs regularly with the world’s foremost orchestras. A noted recitalist and chamber musician, she has played to critical acclaim on five continents. Cellist Andres Diaz won First Prize in the 1986 Naumburg International Cello Competition and was awarded the Avery Fisher Career Grant. Recipient of critical acclaim for his performances around the globe, Mr. Diaz holds The Koerner Chair in Cello at The Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. Pianist Wendy Chen debuted at the age of 15 with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under conductor André Previn and became the youngest winner ever of the National Chopin Competition in 1990. She has garnered critical acclaim for her engagements with leading orchestras and concert halls worldwide.

This exciting April 27 concert will be held at 5:00 PM at Amelia Plantation Chapel, 36 Bowman Road, Amelia Island.

The Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival’s 2018 season will conclude on April 29 with a Closing Gala featuring the piano duo of Julie Coucheron and Elizabeth Pridgen at the Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island.

About the AICMF
Now in its seventeenth season, The Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival is nationally recognized as one of the foremost music events of its kind. The Festival is a not-for-profit, tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.