WVC Foundation presents the Piatigorsky Foundation Concert Oct. 25

Media Contacts: Stacey Lockhart, Foundation executive director, 509.682.6410, or Libby Siebens, communications manager, 509.682.6436 (Mon. – Thurs.), or Kathleen LeBlanc, Piatigorsky Foundation, 212.971.5309

 

The Wenatchee Valley College Foundation is presenting the second year of Piatigorsky Foundation concerts in The Grove Recital Hall, WVC Music and Art Center, on the Wenatchee campus on Friday, Oct. 25. There will be a light reception at 6 p.m. The concert begins at 7 p.m. and will feature Jack Sanders on guitar.

Due to the popularity of last year's performances, reservations are required for this free event. To reserve seats, call the WVC Foundation at 509.682.6410. Walk-in guests will be seated based on availability immediately prior to the performance.

Honored in 2013 with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the American Guitar Society, Sanders' performances have included The Sitka, Kapalua, and Arrowhead Bach Festivals. He has performed with the St. Petersburg, Colorado, and Angeles String Quartets. Recent performances include Joaquin Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez with the Claremont Symphony, and premiere performances of the Concerto for Resonator Guitar and Orchestra by Gabriel Bolaños with the Mill Valley Philharmonic.

His duo with violinist Clayton Haslop has appeared at two GFA Festivals, Merkin Hall in New York, the Oregon Bach Festival and in concerts from Hawaii and Alaska to Maine. The Haslop/Sanders Duo toured for the California Arts Council, and a 1988 tour of China included the Shanghai Conservatory, where Sanders was the first U.S. guitarist to appear after the Cultural Revolution. The Duo has recorded for Centaur and Townhall. Sanders recorded the Preludes of Ponce, Villa-Lobos and Carlevaro, which Townhall Records released in 2000. Sanders, along with oboist Allan Vogel and flutist Janice Tipton, has appeared at the International Music Festival of Costa Rica and the Sedona Chamber Music Festival. He has given first performances of Las Folios D'Espana, a concerto by Louis Moyse, Music in 4 Sharps by Ian Krouse, and the U.S. premiere of Raymond Luedeke's Elemental Dances with the Colorado String Quartet.

An accomplished luthier, Sanders builds modern guitars, vihuelas, baroque guitars and 19th century instruments. Recently, he built Rene Lacôte (c. 1830) copies for the San Francisco Conservatory and Yale University, and a baroque guitar after Stradivarius (1700) for the UCLA Baroque Ensemble. A faculty member of Pomona College and Claremont Graduate University since 1980, he received his degrees from California Institute of the Arts in 1980.

Evan Drachman established The Piatigorsky Foundation in 1990 in honor of his grandfather Gregor Piatigorsky. Piatigorsky deeply believed in the healing and inspiration power of classical music. He once said, "Music makes life better. Music is a necessity. It is rich. It is imaginative. It is magnificent. And it is for everyone." Through his sizzling artistry and charismatic personality, Piatigorsky thus enlivened his mission by performing for millions of people around the globe. The Piatigorsky Foundation is committed to carrying on Piatigorsky's noble aspiration by evoking cultural curiosity through educational and accessible live performances. Last year, The Foundation presented two tours of Washington, performing 16 concerts and reaching over 1,410 people in Seattle, Lacey, and Wenatchee. Likewise, this year The Piatigorsky Foundation aims to reach hundreds of people across Washington to increase awareness and appreciation of classical music in communities throughout the state.

This performance is made possible through the support of Wilfred and Kathy Woods.