WILSON, N.C. — The Barton College/Wilson Symphony Orchestra will present their Spring Concert on Sunday, April 27, at 3 p.m. in the Lauren Kennedy and Alan Campbell Theatre on the Barton campus. The symphony welcomes to the Barton stage internationally acclaimed concert pianist Thomas Pandolfi, who will perform Edvard Grieg’s spactacular “Piano Concerto in A minor.” The orchestra under the direction of Barton’s Mark N. Peterson will also present Jean Sibelius’ exciting masterpiece “Finlandia” and the tuneful “English Folksong Suite” by Ralph Vaughan Williams.
Admission for the spring orchestra performance will be $10 at the door or by season ticket. All students within the community will be admitted free of charge as well as faculty, staff and students of Barton College. For additional information, please contact Luann Clark at 252-399-6309 or email lwclark@barton.edu.
“It is a real honor to have such an extraordinary artist like Mr. Pandolfi coming to Wilson to perform with us,” said Peterson. “He is an extraordinary artist with an astounding technique.”
The young American pianist Pandolfi is an exciting virtuoso who, with each passing season, is becoming more and more sought after by audiences worldwide, and showered with superlatives by critics for his passionate artistry and amazing technique. His orchestral appearances often feature not only the beloved masterpiece concerti by Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov and Liszt, but also the equally brilliant ones by Paderewski, Rubinstein and Moszkowski. Additionally in the “Pops” genre, Pandolfi is considered a leading interpreter of the works of George Gershwin.
Pandolfi’s career has included performances with such European orchestras as The George Enescu Philharmonic, The Cluj Philharmonic, The Oltenia Philharmonic (Craiova), The Moravian Philharmonic, The National Philharmonic of the Republic of Moldova, and The Aberystwyth Symphony in Wales, as well as the American symphony orchestras of Mississippi, Cedar Rapids, Asheville, Princeton, San Angelo, York, Fairfax, Northbrook, Great Falls, and Owensboro to name but a few.
Following a performance of MacDowell’s D Minor Piano Concerto with The George Enescu Philharmonic, The Bucharest Cultural Observer lauded Pandolfi’s “virtuosity, beautiful touch, sensitivity and broad scope…logical phrasing and expressive percussiveness…a soloist whom we would like to hear again.” Of Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Asheville Symphony, The Asheville Citizen-Times remarked, “Pandolfi is a standout among today’s young pianists, demonstrating a great technician’s grace, finesse and polish…his virtuosity and strength might have had some believing that Liszt himself had taken over the keyboard.”
Equally popular as a recitalist, Pandolfi has appeared in concert halls nationwide. The Washington Post has described him as “an artist who is master of both the grand gesture and the sensual line. Pandolfi possesses first-rate technical skills, an unerring comma and of phrasing, a quicksilver touch and cunning legerdemain when it comes to pedaling…etched with calm and crystal clarity…outstanding.” New York Concert Review has characterized Pandolfi’s interpretations as containing “high level pianism and tasteful, diversified musical ideas…crystalline texture and deft coloration… charm and bracing elan.”
A graduate of The Juilliard School, Pandolfi earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees as a scholarship student.
Following the concert, the audience is cordially invited to meet the musicians at a reception, hosted by ARAMARK Higher Education, in the Bridgestone Americas Atrium of the Lauren Kennedy and Alan Campbell Theatre.
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