University of South Carolina-Aiken issued the following announcement on February 1.
For more information contact: USC Aiken News (803) 641-3738, news@usca.edu
Aiken, SC (02/01/2022) — The University of South Carolina Aiken, in association with the Aiken Civic Orchestra (ACO), presents the annual Winter Nocturne concert sponsored by Ben Cox and starring world-renowned Beethoven specialist John O'Conor. The event will occur at the Etherredge Center on Thursday, February 3 at 7:00 p.m.
Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at usca.edu/etherredge-center or by calling 803-641-3305. General admission is $25; students are admitted at no cost.
Irish pianist John O'Conor has gathered outstanding reviews for his masterful playing for over forty years. His unanimous first prize at the International Beethoven Piano Competition in Vienna in 1973 opened the door to a career that has taken him worldwide.
His recordings of the complete Beethoven Piano Sonatas led CD Review to say that he "by now should be recognized as the world's premier Beethoven interpreter," and his recent recordings of the complete Beethoven Piano Concertos with the London Symphony Orchestra and Andreas Delfs have also been greeted with acclaim.
In the past two years, he has released three new CDs on the Steinway label, one of Beethoven's Diabelli Variations and two of Haydn Sonatas. Last summer, he recorded a CD of the complete Beethoven Cello Sonatas with the Irish cellist Ailbhe McDonagh.
A Steinway Artist, he is chair of the Piano Division at Shenandoah University in Virginia, professor of piano at the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, distinguished visiting artist at the TU Dublin Conservatoire of Music, and Visiting Professor at Showa University in Japan.
For his services to music, he has been decorated "Officier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres" by the French Government, awarded the "Ehrenkreuz fur Wissenschaft und Kunst" by the Austrian Government, the "Order of the Rising Sun" by the Emperor of Japan, and has received many other awards.
ACO, led by conductor Adam DePriest, began in 2012 with the vision of providing an ensemble experience to local musicians across the greater Aiken and Central Savannah River Area. It started as a volunteer string ensemble of 12 players. After five years of building a reputation among string players, ACO added winds, brass, and percussion to become a full, symphonic orchestra. In February of 2018, ACO became a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. With an emphasis on featuring local talent, ACO performs about ten programs per season with music ranging from popular to masterpieces and even contemporary works, covering a dynamic range of composers.
Adam DePriest is a conductor and violinist from Aiken, SC, with a bachelor's and two master's degrees in music from the University of South Carolina. He studied violin under William Terwilliger and Neil Casey and studied conducting under Donald Portnoy. Mr. DePriest has received additional conducting training from Grant Cooper, Peter Jaffe, Jorge Mester, and Neil Thompson.
Original source can be found here.
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