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Piano virtuoso Emily Bear will perform a Christmas Eve concert sponsored by the Santa Fe Concert Association.
Expect to hear some Broadway, pop, cabaret and jazz tunes when Tony Award-winning actress, singer and dancer Sutton Foster presents a solo show at the Lensic Performing Arts Center on Dec. 27. Foster has been honored for her roles in Broadway productions of “Thoroughly Modern Millie” and “Anything Goes.”
“It’s going to be an intimate, spontaneous performance,” said Foster, who is busy shooting the television show “Bunheads” in Los Angeles. “My music director, Michael Rafter, and I have pored through hundreds of songs to find just the right repertoire for this show. A lot of the songs are from the Great American Songbook and from my previous two CDs. We’re also trying out some new material.”
Presenting a Broadway star in December has become a Santa Fe Concert Association tradition.
“There are a lot of Broadway lovers in Santa Fe and all around the state,” said Santa Fe Concert Association artistic director Joseph Illick. “Sutton Foster is part of a new generation of Broadway stars, and we’re delighted to be presenting her.”
Foster’s show, which includes Rafter as her pianist, is one of two performances presented by the Santa Fe Concert Association during the week of Christmas. The first one takes place on Dec. 24 when the Santa Fe Concert Association Orchestra plays a new work by 11-year-old pianist/composer Emily Bear.
“Other than her extraordinary musical gifts, Emily Bear is a regular 11-year-old girl,” said Illick. “She’s composed an orchestral piece for us called ‘Santa Fe.’ I asked her if she wanted to conduct it. She asked me what conducting was all about, and after I told her what she’d have to do, she realized that it was within her grasp.”
Bear, who has been playing the piano for six years, studies classical piano with Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s principal keyboardist Mary Sauer and jazz improvisation with Alan Swain. She made her professional debut at the age of five when she performed a solo concert at the Ravina Music Festival in Illinois. One year later she entertained former President George W. Bush and his wife along with 400 guests at the White House. Two years ago she played some of her original solo pieces and works for piano and orchestra in Carnegie Hall.
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If you go WHAT: Christmas Eve with the Santa Fe Concert Association Orchestra and pianist/composer Emily Bear WHEN: 5 p.m., Dec. 24; SFCA presents Broadway star Sutton Foster 7:30 p.m., Dec. 27 WHERE: Lensic Performing Arts Center, 211 W. San Francisco Street, Santa Fe HOW MUCH: $20-$95 at 505-988-1234 |
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“Emily is not imitative,” said Illick. “She has her own voice. It’s clear that she’s talking through the music and that she has something to say.”
In addition to conducting “Santa Fe,” Bear plays original works for piano and orchestra with the Santa Fe Concert Association Orchestra. One of the pieces is a medley of what Illick calls “Disney-like tunes.” “Emily loves jazz, so many of her original pieces are quite jazzy in style,” he said.
Tickets to the Santa Fe Concert Association’s holiday concerts often sell out in advance, so purchasing early is recommended.
