WVC Foundation presents The Piatigorsky Foundation Concert Jan. 16

Media Contact: Stacey Lockhart, WVC Foundation executive director, 509.682.6415, or Kathleen LeBlanc, Piatigorsky Foundation, 212.971.5309

The Wenatchee Valley College Foundation will present a Piatigorsky Foundation concert on Friday, Jan.16, at 6 p.m. in The Grove Recital Hall, Music and Art Center. The concert features Doris Stevenson on piano and Marcus Thompson on violin.

A reception will be held at 5 p.m. The concert is free and open to the public. RSVP to 509.682.6410. Seating is limited to 150.

Stevenson has performed with Gregor Piatigorsky, for whom the Piatigorsky Foundation was named, and she was a pianist for his cello master classes. Piatigorsky described her as "an artist of the highest order."

Stevenson has soloed with the Boston Pops, played at Carnegie Hall and Alice Tully Hall in New York, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Salle Pleyel in Paris and Suntory Hall in Tokyo.

Her recordings include the Saint Saens violin sonatas with Andres Cardenes on the Arabesque label, the complete Mendelssohn cello works with Jeffrey Solow for Centaur, and three CDs with cellist Nathaniel Rosen. A recent Stravinsky CD with violinist Mark Peskanov received a Grammy nomination.

She taught for ten years at the University of Southern California and has been Artist in Residence at Williams College since 1987.

Thompson began violin studies at age six and continued with the violin with Louise Behrend at Juilliard Pre-College when he was 14. He later attended The Juilliard School, where he studied viola, and was awarded Juilliard's first doctoral degree in viola following studies with Walter Trampler.

He has appeared as soloist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the National Symphony, The Cleveland Orchestra, the St. Louis Symphony, The Atlanta Symphony, the Boston Pops, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, the Chicago Sinfonietta and the Czech National Symphony. He has also appeared as the guest of many quartets and has participated in many music festivals around the world.

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.

This performance is made possible through the support of Wilfred and Kathy Woods, the James Pauly Family and the Piatigorsky Foundation.