Last time we saw Alain Trudel on stage locally, he was jamming on trombone with the Toledo Jazz Orchestra. It was a wonderful night of music, and though we’d been hearing news of this coronavirus, little did we realize that the world would turn upside down within a week.
When the pandemic closed down the arts, Trudel headed home across the Canadian border and restrictions have kept him there for more than a year. Not that he was entirely absent. He appeared in video introductions once the orchestra started offering live streamed performances, and when there were live shows with limited audiences.
Now his COVID-19 exile is over.
- David Dupont, BG Independent News
From TOLEDO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
On Friday, May 21 and Saturday, May 22, 2021 at 8 p.m. at the Toledo Museum of Art’s Peristyle Theater, Toledo Symphony Music Director Alain Trudel makes his first appearance back in Toledo since March of 2020.
The TSO is excited to welcome Maestro Trudel back to the podium to conduct a program featuring the return Van Cliburn Gold-Medalist Jon Nakamatsu. In-person and streaming tickets are available to the general public by calling the TAPA Box Office at 419-246-8000 or visiting toledosymphony.com.
“I can’t even express in words the excitement I feel to finally join my wonderful colleagues as we perform together on stage again for our audiences,” says Alain Trudel, TSO Music Director. “This is such an emotional moment for me as well as our entire organization and we feel blessed to be able to share it with our community. I am so thankful to all of our supporters for trusting in our abilities to provide memorable musical experiences in creative ways this past year. It reassures our commitment to serving our region and beyond. I look forward to the future we will build together.”
Alain Trudel has served as the Toledo Symphony’s ninth Music Director since the fall of 2018. This is his third season with the orchestra, and the organization’s 77th season overall.
“It’s been since March 2020 that we’ve seen Alain Trudel on the orchestra’s podium,” says Zak Vassar, TAPA President & CEO. “In his remarkable tenure, Alain has become such a part of our musical fabric. It took a pandemic to keep us apart. I cannot wait to see him, for our musicians to work with him again, and for our audiences to welcome him to the stage once more.”
“I’ve known Jon Nakamatsu for twenty years. He’s one of my favorite pianists and a close friend,” continues Vassar. “Like many classical artists, COVID has interrupted his bright and international career. Jon’s performances of Chopin’s First Concerto will be his first public appearances in over a year. How fitting that these performances will reunite our community with Jon and Alain – both happy and harmonious homecomings.”
American pianist Jon Nakamatsu continues to draw unanimous praise as a true virtuoso of the keyboard, whose playing combines elegance, clarity, and electrifying power. A native of California, Nakamatsu came to international attention in 1997 when he was named Gold Medalist of the Tenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, the only American to have achieved this distinction since 1981. Nakamatsu has performed widely in North and South America, Europe, and the Far East, collaborating with such conductors as James Conlon, Marek Janowski, Raymond Leppard, Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, Osmo Vänskä, and Hans Vonk. He also performed at a White House concert hosted by President and Mrs. Clinton. This is Mr. Nakamatsu’s seventh performance with the Toledo Symphony.
The program includes a TSO premiere of Jessie Montgomery’s Starburst, Johann Sebastian Bach’s Orchestral Suite No. 2 featuring TSO Principal Flute Joel Tse and concludes with Frédéric Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1 performed by Jon Nakamatsu.
This performance is also available on TAPA Streaming. Patrons can stream the performance live at 8PM ET on Saturday, May 22 from the comfort of their homes and watch on their computers, phones, tablets, as well as TAPA Streaming apps on Apple TV and Roku. To purchase streaming tickets, visit stream.artstoledo.com.
This performance is generously made possible by Bob and Sue Savage.
HOW TO ATTEND:
What: Nakamatsu Plays Chopin
When: Friday, May 21 & Saturday, May 22, 2021, 8 p.m.
Where: Toledo Museum of Art Peristyle Theater
Cost: In-person tickets start at $25. Streaming tickets are $19.99.
More info: Visit toledosymphony.com, stop by the TAPA Box Office located at 1838 Parkwood Avenue, or call 419-246-8000, Monday-Friday, 9-5 p.m.
The program includes a TSO premiere of Jessie Montgomery’s Starburst, Johann Sebastian Bach’s Orchestral Suite No. 2featuring TSO Principal Flute Joel Tse and concludes with Frédéric Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1 performed by Jon Nakamatsu.
This performance is also available on TAPA Streaming. Patrons can stream the performance live at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, May 22 from the comfort of their homes and watch on their computers, phones, tablets, as well as TAPA Streaming apps on Apple TV and Roku. To purchase streaming tickets, visit stream.artstoledo.com.
This performance is generously made possible by Bob and Sue Savage.
