WAC Presents Pianist Anthony de Mare, Sept. 23

Westport, CT - The Westport Arts Center’s 2017-18 Concert Series, bringing the best of international talent to Fairfield County, will open with the Westport debut of Anthony de Mare’s highly acclaimed Liaisons: Re-Imagining Sondheim from the Piano on Saturday, September 23 at 7 pm at the Arts Center. 

The concert is generously sponsored by Joyce & David Thompson and Lance & Theresa Lundberg.

De Mare is one of the world’s foremost champions of contemporary music, renowned for his explorations forging the worlds of Classical and Broadway.  He has been praised by The New York Times for his “muscularly virtuosic, remarkably uninhibited performance [and] impressive talents.”

Liaisons is a not-to-be-missed landmark project conceived of by de Mare, based on the songs of legendary musical theater composer Stephen Sondheim.  The project has brought together 36 of the world’s foremost contemporary composers to “reimagine” one of Sondheim’s songs as a solo piano piece.  

The result is a brand new world-class piano repertory that reveals Sondheim’s influence across multiples genres and generations, with a roster spanning the classical, jazz, opera, pop, music theater and film worlds.  Composers range in age from 30 to 80, representing seven countries and 20 Grammy, Pulitzer, Tony, Academy and Emmy Awards.1

The performance will include interpretations of Sondheim’s songs from the musicals Into The WoodsSunday in the Park with GeorgeFollies, and more.  

Alexander Platt is the curator for the Westport Arts Center Concert Series, and will serve as a guide for concert attendees, sharing his perspective and insights at each of the performances. A native Westporter, Platt has previously served as the Music Director of eminent orchestras around the country, and will now make Westport his primary residence and focus.

Of de Mare, Platt stated, “I am personally so thrilled to bring this caliber of musicians to Westport.  This concert will be a unique and memorable experience for everyone, whether you know Sondheim or not.”

Attendees will also have the opportunity to view Vivian Maier – a Lifetime of Photographs, on view at the Arts Center beginning September 15. The exhibition features over seventy color and black & white photos taken by the secretive nanny-photographer during her lifetime.

To learn more about the de Mare concert or the 2017-18 Concert Series, please visit westportartscenter.org or call 203/222-7070.

Ticket Information

The Westport Arts Center encourages advance registration. Tickets for the Anthony de Mare concert are $40 for WAC members and $50 for non-members if purchased in advance.  All tickets purchased at door are $60/ticket.  

Season tickets are available if purchased on or before September 23, 2017.  Season ticket holders will receive two free companion tickets and exclusive access to special Concert Series events through the season.  Free Companion Tickets are also available for Seniors ages 65+; each ticket purchase of $50 includes a free companion ticket (a two-for-one!).  

Westport Arts Center 2017-18 Concert Series season tickets or individual concert tickets can be purchased at www.westportartscenter.org or by calling 203/222-7070.  

The Westport Arts Center thanks WSHU for their generous support. 

More About Anthony de Mare

Anthony de Mare's performances over the years span five continents, allowing him to develop a growing fan base that extends far beyond the traditional contemporary music audience.  In addition to the 36 pieces in The Liaisons Project, he has premiered works by Frederic Rzewski, James Mobberley, Meredith Monk, Jerome Kitzke, David Rakowski, Pulitzer Prize winners David Del Tredici, Aaron Jay Kernis and Paul Moravec, jazz legend Fred Hersch, and the Tony Award winning composer Jason Robert Brown, among others.

Since his debut with Young Concert Artists, his accolades and awards include First Prize and Audience Prize at the International Gaudeamus Interpreters Competition (The Netherlands) and The International Contemporary Piano Competition of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (France). He gave his Carnegie Hall debut at Zankel Hall in 2005.   Mr. de Mare has nearly twenty recordings in his discography. In addition to the current release of LIAISONS on ECM, his recording SPEAK! ~ The Speaking-Singing Pianist (Innova) is the first disc devoted completely to the genre he created over twenty years ago. He currently is Professor of Piano at Manhattan School of Music and New York University and serves as new music curator for The Sheen Center of Thought and Culture in NYC.

Anthony de Mare is a Steinway Artist and is represented by Bernstein Artists, Inc. All pieces were commissioned expressly for The Liaisons Project, Rachel Colbert and Anthony de Mare, producers.  Visit liaisonsproject.com to learn more about the Liaisons Project. 

About the Westport Arts Center

The Westport Arts Center, a nonprofit organization dedicated to connecting community through the arts, reaches more than 11,000 people annually through outstanding programs in visual arts, arts education, and the performance arts of Chamber music and jazz.

The Westport Arts Center receives philanthropic support from the Katherine and Howard Aibel Foundation; Anthropologie & Co.; Artur and Heida Hermanns Holde Foundation, Inc.; Bernstein Private Wealth Management; Cohen and Wolf, P.C.; Critical Mix; Delamar Southport; Design Within Reach; Dragone Motor Cars; Fairfield County Bank; Fairfield County's Community Foundation; Fairfield County Hunt Club; 4th Row Films; First County Bank Foundation; GWAY Print Solutions; Hal Prince Music; the Hall Art Foundation; The Hofstetter Baron Group; Hotel Zero Degrees; J.P. Morgan; Land Rover/Jaguar of Fairfield; Moffly Media; Newman’s Own Foundation; Northeast Tent; Random Acts; Rosenkranz Foundation; Serena & Lily; Shack Sackler Foundation; Sontag Advisory LLC; Steven Mancini Salon; Success Printing & Mailing; Teich Gardens; Tito's Handmade Vodka; Verde Energy USA, Inc.; Wells Fargo Advisors; Westport Now; Westport Resources, a division of United Capital; WPKN and WSHU Public Radio Group. The Westport Arts Center operates with the support of the Department of Economic and Community Development, Office of the Arts, which also receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.

For more information, contact the Westport Arts Center at (203) 222-7070 or www.westportartscenter.org.  The Westport Arts Center gallery is open Monday - Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 51 Riverside Avenue, Westport, CT.

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Submitted by Fairfield, CT

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