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18000 Park Plaza Drive
Cerritos California 90703
Press Release
for immediate release
December 4, 2018
Contact: Kim Bui, (562) 916-1317, kbui@cerritos.us
For tickets: (562) 916-8500, cerritoscenter.com
Composer-Conductor Rob Kapilow Presents
What Makes It Great?: DVOŘÁK – American Quartet
With the Viano String Quartet at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts on Wed., January 23, 7:30 PM
Rob Kapilow “gets audiences in tune with Classical music at a deeper and more immediate level than many of them thought possible.” – Los Angeles Times
CERRITOS, CA – Long compared to legendary composer-conductor Leonard Bernstein and exalted as “Classical music’s greatest evangelist” by the Boston Herald, Rob Kapilow returns to the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts (CCPA) with a What Makes It Great? presentation on Wednesday, January 23, 7:30 PM. Tickets for the program are $55 and are available at the CCPA Ticket Office and cerritoscenter.com or by calling (562) 916-8500.
ROB KAPILOW and the VIANO STRING QUARTET dissect and examine the complexities, influences, and prominence of DVOŘÁK – American Quartet. The piece was reportedly written in only 16 days and became one of the most popular compositions created by Antonín Dvořák, who was fascinated with African American and Native American music and incorporated the spirit of America’s Folk melodies into his works. A Q&A concludes the evening.
For more than a decade, Kapilow has brought the joys and wonder of music to audiences of all ages and backgrounds with his What Makes It Great? presentations, which dissect and examine the mysteries of music in terms everyone can grasp and appreciate. Part
One is an entertaining discussion displaying Kapilow’s gift for observation and his animated teaching style. Part Two features performances of the composition. The evening concludes with Part Three, a spirited Q&A on the work. The New York Times called the series “the kind of enlightening musical seminar in which you hang on to every word and note.”
Cited by The Boston Globe as “an educator, motivational speaker, and game show host, all rolled up in one,” Kapilow has built a loyal following and a name for himself around the world. His renowned What Makes It Great? series is a recurring event at New York’s Lincoln Center and in Boston, Cerritos, and Kansas City. Kapilow’s acclaimed FamilyMusik series introduces youths to all things musical; and Citypieces celebrates American life – its history, citizens, diversity, and destination – through collaborative compositions.
Kapilow claimed the top spot in the Fontainebleau Casadesus Piano Competition, and Second Prize in the Antal Dorati Conductor’s Competition with the Detroit Symphony. He is a featured composer on Chicago Public Radio’s prestigious Composers in America series and a recipient of an Exxon “Meet-the-Composer” grant and awards from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, which includes more than 300,000 U.S. musicians, songwriters, lyricists, and publishers. Kapilow spearheaded the Tony award-winning Nine on Broadway and the premiere of Frida for the opening of the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Next Wave Festival. He authored the award-winning book All You Have to Do Is Listen and its follow-up, What Makes It Great? Short Masterpieces, Great Composers. He is currently finishing a new book for Norton/Liveright on the American Songbook. His music CD Polar Express/
Gertrude McFuzz featured collaborations with Isabel Leonard and Nathan Gunn. Kapilow is currently working on a new piece for the 25th anniversary of Ottawa Chamberfest based on Louise Bourgeois’ spider sculpture, Maman.
Formed in 2015 at the Colburn Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles, the Viano String Quartet has won a host of awards, including Third Prize at the 2018 Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition, the Sidney Griller award for best performance of the compulsory work The Four Quarters, and the Haydn Prize for the best performance of a Haydn string quartet. The group won the Silver Medal at the 2018 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and Third Prize at the 9th Osaka International Chamber Music Competition in 2007. The quartet has been featured on NPR and has played with world-class musicians Emanuel Ax, Paul Coletti, and Martin Beaver.
For tickets or more information, call (562) 916-8500 or go to cerritoscenter.com.
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CALENDAR LISTING
Event: Rob Kapilow’s What Makes It Great?
DVOŘÁK – American Quartet
With the Viano String Quartet
Theater: Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts
18000 Park Plaza Drive, Cerritos
Date: Wednesday, January 23, 2019, 7:30 PM
Ticket Prices: $55
Ticket Information: Tickets are available only at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts’ Ticket Office, at cerritoscenter.com, or by calling (562) 916-8500.