Florida to host exceptionally talented young pianist as Chopin Project® brings Matthew Graybil to Tampa Bay Area for three concerts in three days.

LUTZ, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES, May 12, 2017 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Acclaimed American pianist Matthew Graybil, who made his orchestral debut at age 14 and has gone on to become one of classical music’s most exceptional young artists performing to rave reviews worldwide, is set to reinforce Florida’s cultural credentials by playing three very different recitals in three days next week, in St. Petersburg, Clearwater and Tampa.

Brought to the Bay Area by Frederick Slutsky, founder of The Chopin Project®, a global community sharing information, educational, audio and video resources, and producing live concerts and outreach events, focused on the great composer’s works, Graybil promises to push the boundaries of musical form for aficionados as well as giving some of his audience their first ever taste of classical music on his whistle-stop tour.

Beginning his concert programme on Thursday, May 18, Graybil will play the Dali Museum Theater, located at One Dali Boulevard, St. Petersburg, where he’ll be aiming to channel the inspiring ambiance of the venue and its subject, artist Salvador Dali, in a programme featuring works by composers Scarlatti, Beethoven, Chopin, Wagner and Liszt. Beginning at 6:30pm and expected to last around 90 minutes, the spectacle is set to be an unmissable experience for music lovers with seats selling fast. General admission costs $50 with Dali Museum and Chopin Project® members able to access tickets for just $25 (when discount code CHOPIN is used at checkout).

On Friday May 19 at 4pm, Graybil will face a completely different kind of audience as he takes part in a student outreach event produced by The Chopin Project® for the benefit of the Artz 4 Life Academy in Clearwater. Playing a series of more familiar child-friendly pieces by the likes of Chopin and Mozart, he’ll be using an electronic keyboard to show the anticipated audience of around 125 arts-loving students, parents and teachers that classical music is accessible and can be fun. He will also talk to the assembled audience about his upbringing, love of music and career highlights to date, taking questions from the floor.

Completing his tour of the Bay Area on Saturday May 20, Graybil will reprise his performance at the Dali Museum, playing two Scarlatti Sonatas in B Minor, Beethoven’s (Appassionata) Sonata No. 23 in F Minor, Chopin’s Sonata No. 2 in B-flat Minor, and Liszt’s Mephisto Waltz No. 1, all in aid of raising funds for Tampa’s Society of Friends. Dedicating their newly completed meeting space, located at 1502 West Sligh Avenue, Tampa, Graybil’s concert will be the first in what is expected to be a series of classical performances hosted by the venue. Everybody is welcome and tickets may be purchased at the door or in advance by phone (813-253-3244) and cost $10 and $20. The event starts at 7pm.

Frederick Slutsky, producer of these events, says: “The Chopin Project® is all about spreading knowledge and engendering appreciation of the great composer and pianist’s works, and classical music more widely, moving music lovers and inspiring the next generation of musicians and concert-goers. Live concerts and outreach events are when our work is at its most thrilling – just seeing people’s faces as they are transported to a magical world by some of the finest pianists alive today makes all the effort worthwhile.”

“Matthew has been a long-time collaborator of ours and features heavily on the albums we produce. From his astonishing professional debut playing Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto number one at just 14 years of age, to his concerts throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, France and Holland, we’ve kept a close eye on him and I’m delighted he’s able to join us from New York to fit these three very different events into his busy schedule. I’m sure each audience will see a passionate, captivating performance.”

Born in Pennsylvania in 1987, Graybil began studying the piano at age six. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degree from Juilliard, has won several national and international piano competitions and has performed as a recitalist, concert soloist and chamber musician with the Fort Worth Symphony and the National Chamber Players. He has played in a number of the world’s music capitals in venues such as Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall, Le Poisson Rouge, Lincoln Center, and the Kimmel Center and has made many radio and television appearances.

Among his plaudits, he has been praised by The New Yorker as an ‘exceptional young artist’ and by the Southampton Press as ‘hypnotic and compelling.’ Fanfare Magazine has written that ‘he becomes so at one with the music that the line between composer and performer vanishes’, and that ‘Matthew Graybil’s playing marks him as one of the most sensitive, poetic young pianists to debut on record in recent memory.’

These three events in the Tampa Bay Area follow on from two very well received Chopin Project® concerts in Sarasota, in March, when world renowned pianists, and husband and wife, Tong-Il Han and Helen Lee performed two different programs to critical acclaim and took part in a High School outreach event.

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For further editorial information, digital photography, music and video clips, or to arrange interviews please contact Frederick Slutsky via chopinproject@gmail.com or 1-813-966-1933 (cell) or 1-813-964-5344 (studio).

Editors’ Notes:

The Chopin Project, which aims to connect a global community focused on the work of Fryderyk Chopin, was the brainchild of Frederick Slutsky whose passion includes making Chopin’s music more accessible to listeners and music students worldwide, through a variety of web-based, social media, digital, print and live outreach educational programming.

Since its genesis in 2007 at the University of Michigan’s acclaimed School of Music, Theatre & Dance, where it began as an ambitious live-concert-and-symposium series, The Chopin Project® www.chopinproject.com/ has become a comprehensive interactive user-focused enterprise providing information, educational, audio and video resources. It fulfilled a unique role in the worldwide Chopin bicentennial celebration in 2010.

The Chopin Project® facebook community is open to all and can be found at www.facebook.com/chopinproject while those preferring twitter can follow @chopinproject.

The Dali Museum (www.thedali.org), opened on January 11, 2011, is located at One Dali Blvd, St. Petersburg, FL 33701. It celebrates the life and work of Salvador Dali (1904-1989) and features over 2,100 works from the artist’s career. Its mission is to educate and inspire, serving as an active participant in the cultural life of its local community and the world at large.

For 26 years, Artz 4 Life (www.artz4life.org) has delivered programs serving thousands families in and around the Tampa Bay area. Located at 1751 Kings Highway, Clearwater, FL 33755, the non-profit corporation aims to reinforce resilience to life’s challenges by enhancing education, promoting diversity and developing life skills through cultural and performing arts.

The Tampa Quaker Meetinghouse, a base for spiritual education, schooling, friendship and community initiatives (www.tampafriends.org) is located at 1502 W. Sligh Ave., Tampa, FL 33604. Its meetinghouse fund has already raised over $86,000 through the generosity of the local community but requires another $33,000 to reach its target.

Fred Slutsky
The Chopin Project®
8139661933
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