LIVE at Piedmont Piano Company
JAZZ PIANO MASTERS SERIES
Laurence Hobgood & Matt Szemela
Laurence Hobgood and Matthew Szemela first connected around 10 years ago; kindred musical spirits, they quickly realized an intuitively rare and potent connection, a mellifluous symbiosis in terms of how they’re able to listen to and play off of one another. Both virtuosos, both deeply invested in music as a conveyor of jubilance, reflection, humor, reverence — their interactions are an exciting and sometimes surprising paean to true musical expressionism — not to be missed!
$20 General Admission
We are offering a limited number of tickets to attend this performance in person. Advance purchase is recommended. Masking is recommended but not required.
LAURENCE HOBGOOD
Jazz pianist, composer, arranger, producer, Yamaha® artist and Grammy® winner Laurence Hobgood has enjoyed a 30+year career, including three consecutive Fellowships to the Aspen Music Festival (1990 - 92), being chosen as a 1995 Chicagoan of the Year in the Arts, a 2003 Deems Taylor Award given by ASCAP for the year’s outstanding music journalism, multiple Grammy® nominations and a 2010 Grammy® Award. He's played at many of the world’s most prestigious venues including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the White House, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Tanglewood, Hollywood Bowl, and the Sydney Opera House. For almost 20 years he served as pianist/arranger/collaborator/co-producer for singer Kurt Elling during which time he wrote virtually all of the material on Elling's first ten albums, all of which received Grammy® nominations. laurencehobgood.com
MATTHEW SZEMELA
Praised by the New York Times for his “outrageous fiddling,” Matthew Szemela is a violinist who crosses musical genres with ease. He has performed as soloist, chamber and orchestral musician in several renowned concert halls both domestically (Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully, Merkin Recital Hall, Library of Congress, Kennedy Center), and abroad (Japan, China, Korea, Belgium, Luxembourg, Australia, Italy). Matthew has collaborated, recorded, and performed with a myriad of artists including Jay-Z, Beyonce, Rihanna, Savion Glover, Sting, Lana Del Rey, Josh Groban, Placido Domingo, Bob Weir, Dave Stewart, Billy Childs, Lisa Fischer, Johnny Mathis, Andrea Bocelli, and Olivia Newton John. In the fall of 2007 Matthew portrayed an Irish rock violinist in the Warner Brothers film August Rush, working with famed music producer Phil Ramone. TV appearances include Good Morning America (with Josh Groban), The View (with Rihanna), and American Idol (with Lana Del Rey).