An All-American Piano Concert with Mark Valenti

2634 Tracy Avenue,Kansas City MO 64108

19 March, 2022

Description

Join us for this one-hour solo piano concert featuring Mark Valenti! The Charlotte House Series is thrilled to welcome for the first time Chicago-based pianist, Mark Valenti to perform on its series. Mark will be showcasing some of the most popular works by American composers, including the Barber Sonata and the Gershwin Preludes. We are excited to have Mark perform some of his very own Jazz improvisations as well! Mark Valenti received his Master of Music from Northwestern University, Bachelor of Music from the Philadelphia Musical Academy, and has studied with such notable teachers as Benjamin Whitten, Zoltan Kocsis, and Mary Sauer. In addition to giving solo recitals in cities throughout the U.S., Mr. Valenti has performed in France, Belgium, Hungary, and Luxembourg, as well as for former First Lady Barbara Bush in Washington, D.C. Mark Valenti has performed in recital live on WFMT, Chicago's classical music radio station. He has also done extensive work in the Jazz field including performances with Gregory Hines, Frank Foster, and Al Grey and has appeared on television with Joe Sudler's Swing Machine and singer/actor Christopher Durham. Formerly Professor of Music at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Xavier University in Chicago, and the Loire Valley Music Institute in France, Mr. Valenti currently teaches at his studio in the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago. Join us! PROGRAM The Alcotts from the Concord Sonata - Charles Ives Four Piano Blues - Aaron Copland Freely poetic Soft and languid Muted and sensuous With bounce Sonata, op. 26 - Samuel Barber Allegro energico Allegro vivace e leggero Adagio mesto Fuga Allegro con spirito Three Preludes - George Gershwin Allegro ben ritmato e deciso Andante con moto e poco rubato Agitato Jazz Improvisations - Mark Valenti To be announced from the stage EVENT TIMELINE 3:30 - 3:55 - Arrive and mingle 4:00 - Concert 5:00 - 6:00 - Performer meet & greet  A wine reception with light hors d'oeuvres will be provided during the performer meet & greet ADDITIONAL EVENT DETAILS Early Bird Discount: Promo code CHS10 available through February 28th Attire: Cocktail Chic Parking: Street parking is available in the surrounding neighborhood. Accessible parking is available upon request. COVID Protocols (subject to change): Masks will be encouraged while seated and not actively eating or drinkingSeating will be spaced as much as possibleAn air purifier will be in use during the eventFull refunds will be issued if guests no longer wish to attend due to COVID-19 The Charlotte House Series connects aspiring musicians to the local community in homes throughout Kansas City, starting with one on Charlotte Street where it was founded. While aiming to provide a unique concert experience accessible to all audiences, the series cherishes a music tradition that has long been forgotten, that of a salon style in which music was often performed in small settings such as parlors or living rooms. Popular in Europe throughout much of the 19th century, the salon concert was a venue not only for musicians of the time to perform but for composers themselves to perform as well. Pieces performed in such spaces regularly featured a high degree of virtuosity and showmanship, and the intimate nature of these venues was also conducive to an elegance and nostalgia found in much of the other music of the era as well. ​​ The experience of music is typically a very personal one, whether enjoyed with others in a concert hall or arena or individually through a car radio or smartphone app. We all enjoy a unique interpretation, a different style, a poignant lyric, or a moving harmony. The vision of the Charlotte House Series is to create meaningful experiences that are personal not only because we expect audience members to take away something that changed or moved them in some way, but because we will be personally grateful for the opportunity to have been part of such an experience. We hope you join us soon to experience a new way of enjoying music the old way.       The Charlotte House Series is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.