Clarinetist Thomas Piercy October Appearances In NY

Online, September 13, 2010 (Newswire.com) - Mr. Piercy will be joined in these exciting and varied concerts by the bassist Pablo Aslan, a recent Latin Grammy nominee for Best Tango Album (Tango Grill), pianist Claudine Hickman and guitarist Vilian Ivantchev.

The Oct. 29th concert will be a celebration concert of three separate CDs released this year: CAFÉ, Tango Grill, and Ballad in Memory of Shirley Horn.

The Richard Rodney Bennett "Ballad in Memory of Shirley Horn" is the world premier recording of this new work for clarinet and piano. It was recorded under the supervision of the composer.
The programs will include works by Bartok, Richard Rodney Bennett, Claude Bolling, Paquito D'Rivera, Carlos Gardel, Joe Hisiashi , Arvo Part, Piazzolla, Poulenc, Ned Rorem, Satie, Anibal Troilo, Villa-Lobos. Most works on the programs are performed in arrangements by Piercy.

Clarinetist THOMAS PIERCY is a critically acclaimed musician with orchestral, concerto, solo recital and chamber music appearances throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. His performances have been described by critics as "passionate," "pulling out all the stops," "the best Piazzolla in NYC," and by the New York Times as "brilliant," "playing with refinement and flair" and "evoking a panache in the contemporary works."

A versatile artist defying categorization - the clarinetist on the Emmy Award-winning Juno Baby CDs and DVDs; performing Mozart with mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade; playing Broadway songs with Raoul Julia; working with the composer Leonard Bernstein; appearing in a KRS-ONE rap music video; performing concert improvisations with pianist Donal Fox; performing at the infamous CBGBs; performing and premiering demanding contemporary works; performing with some of the best tango musicians in NYC, recording with members of Maroon 5 - as an instrumentalist, singer, director/music director/conductor and actor, he has performed and/or recorded for Broadway and Off-Broadway, commercials, television, radio, videos, and movie soundtracks.

Mr. Piercy performs varied concerts of standard classical music, jazz-inspired programs, contemporary works, pieces written specifically for him and his own original arrangements, compositions and collaborations. He performs and records on rare English-bore rosewood clarinets made for him by Luis Rossi of Santiago, Chile. He studied at the Juilliard School and Mannes College of Music in NYC, and studied extensively with the English clarinetist Gervase De Peyer; additional studies were with Kalmen Opperman and Leon Russianoff.

Mr. Piercy has performed at many of the world's acclaimed concert halls including Carnegie Hall (NY, NY), Lincoln Center (NY, NY), the Kennedy Center (Washington, DC.), Centre Pompidou (Paris, France), Wigmore Hall (London, England), Accademia di Santa Cecilia (Rome, Italy) and Parthenon (Tokyo, Japan). A frequent performer of new music, Piercy has premiered numerous compositions, many of them written for him. Pulitzer Prize winner and Grammy Award-winning composer Ned Rorem wrote his only clarinet and piano piece, "Four Colors," for Mr. Piercy; the work had its premiere at a concert celebration for Mr. Rorem at Carnegie Hall. Mr. Piercy has recorded many of Rorem's chamber works featuring the clarinet; Mr. Rorem is currently writing a clarinet, cello and piano trio for Piercy.

Upcoming projects for Piercy include a concert tour of Japan which includes rare works for clarinet and shakuhachi, and recordings of works by Piazzolla and a second volume of chamber works by Ned Rorem.

Critics' comments
A classic performance.
The Clarinet Magazine

The Best Piazzolla in New York. On Monday afternoon, there couldn't have been anything better...an impressively inclusive overview of Piazzolla's career. The crowd was spellbound. If Piercy's planned upcoming recording of Piazzolla works is anything like this, it'll be amazing.
Lucid Culture

Mr. Piercy is masterly on his clarinet.
The New York Sun

Piercy managed to silence the sold-out room (no easy task!) with a practically telepathic, emotionally rich program of both familiar and more obscure compositions by the legendary Argentinian composer Astor Piazzolla, along with meticulous yet spirited performances of two pieces by French jazz composer Claude Bolling.
Lucid Culture

"Brilliant"..."playing with refinement and flair"..."evoking a panache in the contemporary works."
The New York Times

Thomas Piercy is available for interview. Please contact Stuart Hall at 212-974-0663 to set up a time. Please visit www.thomaspiercy.com and www.tonadaproductons.com for more information.
For more information about Pablo Aslan, visit www.avantango.com

Sunday, Oct. 17, 2010 at 6:00 PM.
Daniel Pearl World Music Days Concert.
Good Shepherd Church. 1950 Batchelder St., Brooklyn, NY 11229. 718- 998-2800 [email protected]

Friday, Oct. 29, 2010 at 9:30 PM.
CAFÉ, Tango Grill and "Ballad" CD release concert.
Caffe Vivaldi. 32 Jones Street, NY, NY 10014. 212-691-7538
There is no cover charge and no minimum.
More info at www.caffevivaldi.com

Saturday, Oct. 30 at 8pm. Zora Art Space.
315 4th Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11215. 718-832-4870. [email protected]
There is no cover charge and no minimum.
More info at www.zoraspace.com

PROGRAMS INCLUDE THESE WORKS
Bela Bartok Roumanian Dances
Richard Rodney Bennett Ballad in Memory of Shirley Horn
Claude Bolling Romantique
Paquito D'Rivera Badoneon
Carlos Gardel Mi manta pampa; O sus ojos
Joe Hisiashi Les Aventuriers (New York Premier); Summer; The Rain
Arvo Part Spiegel im Spigel
Astor Piazzolla:
Concert d'aujourd'hui
Contrabajissimo
Deus Xango
Invierno Porteno
Le Grand Tango
Michelangelo 70
Milonga del Angel
Oblivion
Soledad
Tango del Diablo

Francis Poulenc Mouvements perpetuel
Ned Rorem Four Waltzes
Erik Satie Gnossienne
Anibal Troilo Romance de Barrio
Heitor Villa-Lobos Modinha; Bachianas Brasilieras No. 5

UPCOMING HIGHLIGHTS
Sept. 21 - 22 Boston, Mass Contemporary Japanese chamber music
Sept. 24 - 26 Montreal Contemporary Canadian and USA chamber music
Oct. 17 Brooklyn, NY Daniel Pearl World Music Days Concert
Oct. 1 World premier recording of Richard Rodney Bennett "Ballad in Memory of Shirley Horn"
Oct. 29 NY, NY "CAFÉ" CD & Bennett "Ballad" CD release concert
Oct. 30 Brooklyn, NY Zora Space
Nov - Feb Tokyo, Japan Contemporary American and Japanese music
March 2011 NY, NY Concert of 5 world premiers written for Thomas Piercy
Spring 2011 NY, NY Premier of Rorem Trio for clarinet, cello and piano (written for Mr. Piercy)

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