Thursday, September 12, 2013

Page Series presents pianist Christopher O’Riley Sept. 17



Christopher O’Riley, NPR’s most famous pianist, will continue to stretch the piano beyond conventional boundaries Tuesday, Sept. 17, at Saint Mary’s University as part of the Page Series. Audiences will hear O’Riley interpret contemporary popular music including Elliott Smith, Radiohead and Pink Floyd.

O’Riley has taken his unique vision to both traditional classical music venues and symphonic settings, as well as to entirely new audiences on the radio, at universities and even clubs. As host of the popular classical music show, National Public Radio’s “From The Top,”  O’Riley works and performs with the next generation of brilliant young musicians, demonstrating to audiences that these young artists are as interesting and diverse in their personal lives as they are in their music-making.

He has toured the U.S. with the world-famous Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Chamber Orchestra. He has appeared with the philharmonic orchestras of Los Angeles, New York, Moscow and the Royal Philharmonic in London, the Minnesota Orchestra, and the symphonies of Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Baltimore, Philadelphia and San Francisco.

The show will begin at 7:30 p.m. in Page Theatre.

Tickets are $24 for adults, $22 for seniors and students and are available online at www.pagetheatre.org, or at the SMU Box Office, Ext. 1715, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. There will be a limited quantity of $6 tickets available for youth 5-14 years old.

A Page in History event is planned for 12:05 p.m. Sept. 17 in the Winona County History Center. This free event includes a unique opportunity to talk with O’Riley about the making of his popular radio program and the mission behind the program, heard on over more than 200 radio stations nationwide. This is a time for fans of both his music and this program to ask questions about this aspect of his career. He will be in the Slaggie Family Lobby on the 1884 Steinway.