WILSON, N.C. — The Barton College/Wilson Symphony Orchestra will present its annual Fall Concert on Sunday, Nov. 22, at 3 p.m. in the Kennedy Family Theatre. Under the direction of conductor Mark N. Peterson, director of music at Barton, the orchestra welcomes back to Wilson noted piano virtuoso and educator, Boaz Sharon. He will perform Beethoven’s profoundly dynamic “Piano Concerto No. 3.” Also featured will be Mozart’s scintillating “Symphony No. 41,” performed by the Barton College/Wilson Symphony Orchestra. Nicknamed “The Jupiter,” this was the last symphony that Mozart composed.
General admission for the fall orchestra performance is $10. Barton College students, faculty, and staff are admitted free. For additional information, please contact Luann Clark, Office of Administration and Finance, at (252) 399-6329 or lwclark@barton.edu.
Sharon is professor of piano and chair of the Piano Department at Boston University, and director of the Young Artists Piano Program at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute. Born in Tel Aviv, Israel, he studied from the age of 13 with Stefan Askenase – famed interpreter of Chopin and Mozart – in Brussels, Belgium. He later pursued his piano studies in the U.S. with Leonard Shure. Sharon was formerly pianist-in-residence at Duke University, and professor of piano at the University of Florida. He is an honorary fellow at Charles University, Prague. In 2009, he was appointed visiting professor at the China Conservatory in Beijing.
“We anticipate Boaz’s return with great enthusiasm,” noted Peterson. “His performance with the orchestra in 2009 was simply spectacular, and the audience also loved his brilliant encore. The bold nature of Beethoven’s third concerto is the perfect vehicle for his rock-solid technique.”
Among concerts given by Sharon have been performances in the Taipei National Performing Arts Center, Taiwan; Steinway Celebrity Series, London; Phillips Collection and National Gallery, Washington, D.C.; Liszt International Piano Festival, Rio de Janeiro; the Chapelle Historique Piano Series, Montreal; and the Gasteig Hall, Munich. He is also a frequent judge at international competitions.
As an international recording artist, Sharon’s releases have received critical acclaim. “Newsweek” added one of his collections to its “best recordings of the year” list, and “The New York Times” labeled the same collection “beautifully recorded and played.”
During 2014-2015, Sharon is giving concerts in Seoul, New York City, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Rio de Janeiro, and San Paulo. He will be on the Jury of the Jaen International Competition, Spain, and the Second International Youth Competition at the Kaufman Center in New York City.
“People should take the opportunity to see this wonderful artist perform with Wilson’s own symphony orchestra,” Peterson continued. “Orchestra concerts in the intimate Kennedy Family Theatre are quite exciting. The acoustics are great and the audience really has an up close and personal view of the action.”
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