The College of Southern Maryland announces the beginning of the Ward Virts Concert Series and presents classical pianist, Brian Ganz at 3 p.m., Oct. 9 at the Prince Frederick Campus, Room 119. Ganzs performance is the first of six in the concert series, which is held at CSMs Prince Frederick Campus, 115 Williams Road, Prince Frederick.
Ganz is a graduate of the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University and has appeared as a soloist with such orchestras as the St. Louis Symphony, The St. Petersburg Philharmonic (of Russia), the Baltimore Symphony, the National Symphony, the National Philharmonic, and the City of London Sinfonia, among others.
Ganz is widely regarded as one of the leading pianists of his generation. Washington Post critic Joan Reinthaler has written: One comes away from a recital by pianist Brian Ganz not only exhilarated by the power of performance but also moved by his search for artistic truth.
For many years Ganz has made it his mission to join vivid music making with warmth and intimacy onstage to produce a new kind of listening experience, in which the classics of composers from Chopin to Shostakovich come to life with authentic emotional power. As one of Belgiums leading newspapers, La Libre Belgique, once put it, We dont have words to speak of this fabulous musician who lives music with a generous urgency and brings his public into a state of intense joy.
Ganz says that he is an active explorer of the many ways in which the study and performance of great music can remind us of the Spirit that unites all living things. He has donated numerous performances in benefit concerts and was a founding member of the Washington Chapter of Artists to End Hunger. He resides in Annapolis.
Ganz's performance will be preceded by a brief performance by Job Smoot, the winner of the 2011 Southern Maryland Piano Competition.
The Ward Virts Concert Series is presented by Edward and Patricia Mehosky, St. Clair and Mary Tweedie, Gerry Van De Velde and Rene Cunningham and CSM. The centerpiece of the concert series is a world-class Boesendorfer Grand Piano, which was gifted to CSM by the Ward Virts Piano Project as a gift to the entire community. The WVPP was formed by friends and classmates of pianist Ward Virts, whose sudden death in 1993 inspired them to purchase this hand-made piano and dedicate the piano to CSM Prince Frederick Campus in Wards memory. Inspired by Ward's life and spirit, his friends and classmates conceived the project in order to bring the love of life, beauty and music that Ward embodied to a new generation of Southern Maryland students, performers and appreciative audiences. Admission is free and seating is open but limited. Contact 443-550-6011, rfleming@csmd.edu or www.csmd.edu/Arts.
Calendar
CSM Ward Virts Concert Series: Brian Ganz. 3 p.m., Oct. 9, College of Southern Maryland, Prince Frederick Campus, Room 119, 115 J.W. Williams Road, Prince Frederick. The Ward Virts Concert Series presents classical pianist, Brian Ganz. A graduate of the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, Ganz has performed with numerous orchestras such as the St. Louis Symphony, as well as annually with the Ward Virts series. The Ward Virts Concert Series is presented by Edward and Patricia Mehosky, St. Clair and Mary Tweedie, Gerry Van De Velde and Rene Cunningham and CSM. Open seating. Free. 443-550-6011, rfleming@csmd.edu, or www.csmd.edu/Arts.