Our stage comes alive with special events that touch our community.

The Emerson Center, along with Presenting Sponsor CenterState Bank, is proud to announce the “Jazz on Sundays,” a trilogy of musical events to be introduced for Vero Beach’s upcoming social season. Music will be performed by the Space Coast Symphony Orchestra.

PAST EVENTS IN THE SERIES... The first of the three-part series will be held on Sunday, November 20 at 2:30 p.m. at the Emerson Center. “An Afternoon with Basie, Ellington, & Friends” showcases the styles of music by these jazz artists who were the backbone of some of the musical heritage in America and Europe. Don't miss this incredible inaugural concert that will have you tapping your toes all night.

Then, on Sunday December 18 at 2:30 p.m., The Space Coast Jazz All-Stars will present two iconic Christmas albums, A Stan Kenton Merry Christmas and Duke Ellington’s Nutcracker.

The third part of the series will be held on Sunday, March 11, 2012, at 2:30 p.m. when the Orchestra presents iconic pieces from the jazz roots of Louis Armstrong’s New Orleans, through the Boogie Woogie of Harry James and Lionel Hampton, including Count Basie and Louis Prima’s swing and jump styles, and tastes of contemporary jazz rooted in rock and roll.

The Space Coast Symphony is a lively and passionate Central Florida orchestra comprised of professional musicians and select youth players. The Orchestra was formed with a two-fold mission: to provide mentoring and performance opportunities for Florida’s finest youth musicians as well as to provide professional-level concerts at genuinely affordable prices. The ultimate goal of the organization is to help ensure the symphonic tradition for the enjoyment of future generations.

“We worked with the Space Coast Symphony Orchestra in May 2010, when they performed a patriotic concert to a very enthusiastic crowd,” said The Emerson Center’s Don Croteau. “We wanted to bring them back with their Jazz Series for this season, and with the sponsorship from CenterState Bank, we were able to accomplish that.”

Advance tickets of $20 may be purchased online or by calling the Box Office at 772.778.5249. Tickets at the door are an additional $5. Students 18 years of age and under (with identification) are admitted free.

The devastating January 12, 2010, earthquake in Haiti focused attention of the world on a small country no more than 700 miles off the coast of Florida. Hundreds of thousands lost their lives and as many as one million lost their homes. More than a million Haitians are still struggling to recover their lives. And yet this earthquake is just the latest challenge in a history of injustices, dictatorships, natural calamities, and economic disasters following the breathtaking accomplishment of the Haitian independence from France in 1804.

The poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti is the only slave colony – ever - to achieve freedom. Its people are steeped in the concept of justice, even as they live through injustice. Their story provides the world a rich tradition of art, music, and culture. These are our neighbors; they have lived and worked among us since the founding of our country. Every Haitian alive has hope for change in Haiti.

On March 24, 2012, at 4:00 PM the Laura (Riding) Jackson Foundation and Haiti Partners will present words of new hope for Haiti through the voices of renowned author and Haitian expert, Edwidge Danticat, and local author Kent Annan. A reception to meet the authors, purchase books and Haitian arts and crafts will follow.

 

Haitian-born Edwidge Danticat is the author of several fiction and nonfiction books and winner of numerous awards and honors, including the National Book Award and an Oprah Book Club selection. Recipient of the MacArthur "genius award" last year, Ms. Danticat received degrees from Barnard and Brown University. Her work appears regularly in The New Yorker Magazine and she is frequently heard on NPR. She has edited two anthologies, The Butterfly’s Way: Voices from The Haitian Dyaspora in the United States and The Beacon Best of 2000: Great Writing by Men and Women of All Colors and Cultures. Her writings are regularly anthologized and translated into many languages. In addition to teaching creative writing at New York University and the University of Miami, she has worked with filmmakers Patricia Benoit and Jonathan Demme on Haiti-related documentaries and is active in various social causes. Ms. Danticat lives in Miami with her husband.
 

"I come from a place where breath, eyes and memory are one, a place from which you carry your past like the hair on your head. Where women return to their children as butterflies or as tears in the eyes of the statues that their daughters pray to."

 - Edwidge Danticat, from Breath, Eyes, Memory

Kent Annan is the author of two nonfiction books, After Shock (2011) and Following Jesus through the Eye of the Needle (2009). His work has been published in numerous literary journals. He is co-director and co-founder of Haiti Partners, a nonprofit focused on education in Haiti. He began living and working in Haiti in 2003 after previously working for refugee ministries in Western Europe, Albania and Kosovo. His work with Haiti Partners has him traveling to Haiti regularly, including numerous immediate earthquake response trips in spring of 2010. Mr. Annan is a resident of Vero Beach, Florida, where he lives with his wife and two children. He holds a Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary.

 

This event is being presented by the Laura (Riding) Jackson Foundation in partnership with Haiti Partners. Sponsors are encouraged to add their voices of support for this important cause.

About Haiti Partners

Haiti Partners works to help Haitians change Haiti through education, training, and resources for teachers, students, leaders, and disciples. One in three children never get to attend school, and the vast majority of Haitians live on less than two dollars a day. Haiti Partners strives to equip individuals to nurture dignity and foster the critical thinking, group learning, and self-confidence essential to making social enterprises flourish. Haiti Partners has responded to the earthquake by launching a program to build and provision Learning Centers. These Learning Centers shelter families, provide schools for children, and offer ongoing jobs to the Haitians who teach, build, and sustain the centers. Haiti Partners maintains a past, present, and future commitment to education in Haiti, not as an emergency fix, but as a long-term strategy for change in Haiti (www.haitipartners.org).

About the Laura (Riding) Jackson Foundation

Founded in 1992, the Laura (Riding Jackson) Foundation interprets its mission to “create awareness, understanding and appreciation of Laura (Riding) Jackson and her works” by emphasizing in its programs the skills and dedication required to be a good writer, and the value and possibilities in a life devoted to language and literature. The Foundation has preserved the author’s home, an example of Florida’s historic “cracker” style of vernacular architecture. The home is a focal point for the study of literature and history, an example of a disappearing architectural style, and a symbol of an older, more environmentally-sensitive way of life. The Foundation’s vision is to become a regionally significant provider of literary and humanities-based programs for a broad range of audiences (www.lauraridingjackson.com).
 

 

Tickets are now available online or by calling the Box Office at 772-778-5249. You can order tickets for the authors' presentation ($25) and, additionally, for the reception which follows ($25).

Described by critics as “Bocelli of the Cello,” cellist and composer Ian Maksin announced that his solo tour of Florida will include a November 6th stop at Vero Beach's Emerson Center in which he will introduce listeners to a diverse collection of pieces and genres, bridging the gap between classical and popular music.

Besides standard repertoire such as Bach Suite for Unaccompanied cello No 3 in C major and Cello Suite by Gaspar Cassado, Ian will give several Florida premieres: Sonata for Cello Solo No. 1, Op. 72 by Mieczyslaw Weinberg, a Polish-born, Jewish, Soviet composer and contemporary ofShostakovich; Three Pieces for Cello Solo by an award-winning Chicago composer Ilya Levinson; and finally, Maksin’s own new work “Meditations on Themes by Sting”, a rhapsody for cello solo based on popular Sting songs such as “Fields of Gold” and “Fragile.”

Known for his intense, passionate performances, Ian Maksin is quickly gaining international acclaim as both as a cellist and a composer. He recently returned from his sold-out European tour, where he captivated audiences with his unique style and his incredible range. Maksin’s performance career encompasses many musical genres: he has collaborated with artists such as Sting, Andrea Bocelli, P. Diddy, Snoop Dogg, Gloria Estefan, Beach Boys, as well as Riverdance and Cirque du Soleil. In addition to appearing as a soloist with numerous orchestras around the World and at many classical music festivals such as Ravinia, Spoleto, and the White Nights Festival in his native St. Petersburg, Russia, Maksin has also performed at Lollapalooza and on MTV.

Maksin’s mission as a performer is to deliver music to as many listeners around the globe as possible, and reach out specifically to people who have limited or no exposure to classical music, and cello in particular. “I don’t believe there is another instrument that sounds more like the human voice than the cello” says Maksin. “I fell in love with it when I was five years old, and I have introduced the cello to thousands since then. My goal is to make sure no one is left behind”.

Tickets may be purchased online or by calling The Emerson Center at 778-5249.

One of New York’s premiere cabaret performers, Corinna Sowers-Adler, will be appearing at The Emerson Center with an especially stirring Veterans' Day presentation, “Songs from the Heart.” In this unique night-out, Sowers-Adler will feature new found love songs we’ll never forget and the standards we’ll always remember. This will be a single performance November 11, 2011 at 8:00 pm.
 

Sowers-Adler was named one of NYC’s top 15 cabaret acts of 2010 by Andrew Martin of Nitelife Exchange. Stephen Hanks, reviewer for “Cabaret Scenes,” writes, “during her right and well-crafted performance... Corinna not only exhibited a lovely and powerful soprano voice... but a burgeoning sassy-blonde comedic ability.”
 

For more information and to sample her enchanting style, visit her web site http://corinnasings.com.
 

Tickets for the event are specially priced at only $15. Tickets may be ordered online or you may call 778-5249. Also, tickets will be available at the door at a cost of $20.

On Sunday, November 13 at 3:00 PM, The Treasure Coast Symphony will fill The Emerson Center with music in their debut performance on our stage. In fact, this performance will be the orchestra's first performance of their 27th season.

Under the baton of Conductor Terence Kirchgessner, this appearance will showcase the talents of a guest soloist, cellist Aziz Sapaev, a highly recognized performer from Uzbechistan who has performed since age 13. On our stage, he will present Haydn's Cello Concerto No. 1 in C Major.

In addition, this concert program offers the overture from Rossini's Barber of Seville and Schubert's Symphony No. 3 in D Major, D.200.

The Treasure Coast Symphony is a non-for–profit organization made up of volunteer musicians from the Treasure Coast area. Since 1984, the orchestra has been dedicated to providing cultural enrichment, education, and activity for the performing and non-performing segments of our community. For more information please visit their website at http://treasurecoastsymphony.org.

 

 

Vero Beach's Silver Tones Chorus, in cooperation with the Senior Resource Association, will be staging "A Holiday Concert" at The Emerson Center on December 15 at 7:00 PM.

The concert will feature the Gifford "Tigers" Youth Orchestra and the Sebastian River High School Chorus. The event is being sponsored by the Leo and Peggy Pierce Family Foundation.
 

Organizers are suggesting a $5 donation per individual at the door to support the work of the Senior Resource Association. For more information, call 772.469.2062 or email seniorcenter@sramail.org.

Responding to requests from their appreciative local audiences, the acclaimed Miami Beach String Quartet is returning to Vero Beach's Emerson Center on Saturday, January 7th at 4:00pm for a special performance. Due to scheduling complications, this will likely be their only performance in our area this season. (Download a brochure about this event.)

The program will feature compositions by Mozart, Dvorak, and Tchaikovsky (see program notes below). As our audiences learned at their two Emerson Center performances last season, the Miami Beach String Quartet is a prime example of the ultimate in quartet excellence, capturing the excitement of music and its soul. Their encore performance promises to be beautiful, melodic, strong, and often deeply introspective.

Once again, you’ll feel the intimacy of the music and get to know the musicians and their style. You can watch their facial expressions and feel the natural syncopation with their instruments and with each other as their posture changes with the melody or intensity of the music. Importantly, you will witness four renowned soloists, united by their musical passions without benefit of a conductor, relying on countless rehearsal hours to insure musical perfection.

The Miami Beach String Quartet's upcoming performance promises an afternoon you’ll always remember.

 

THE PROGRAM

To open the concert, the quartet chose Tchaikovsky’s Andante Cantabile, the slow and melodic second movement written for the composer’s quartet number eleven, but frequently played as a separate piece because of its compelling beauty. The origin of the melody is said to be a tune whistled by a workman which fascinated the composer who orchestrated it for string quartet. In any case it has undoubtedly become one of the most beloved andantes in musical repertoire. Another famous piece follows.

Mozart’s String Quartet Number 17 in B flat major has been named “Hunting” because of its opening movement’s general mood of happiness and its suggestion of intense joy in effortless music making. The second movement slows the rhythm to a dance movement contrasted by a more youthful sounding trio. Then a lyrical Adagio third movement changes the perspective with a melodic phrase played by the first violin with the accompaniment of the other instruments. A joyful and untroubled Finale returns to the original mood to conclude the “Hunting Quartet.” The quartet ends in jubilant music befitting Mozart’s gratitude to Josef Haydn to whom this piece and five others were dedicated.

The concert will end with Antonin Dvorak’s Quartet in F major, commonly called ”The American.” This famous quartet was written during Dvorak’s two year stint as Director of the National Conservatory of Music of America, specifically during a vacation visit to the Czech immigrant settlement in Spillville, Iowa. There he made musical sketches of the Indian and American Western music which he studied until he was able to capture their characteristics well enough to make a musical picture of the American west described in this quartet and in his Quintet in E flat major. Although the music sounds familiar they are Dvorak’s own compositions written in accordance with the keys, rhythms, scales, and tonalities which give the themes their American indigenous characteristics while still retaining the techniques of European art music. The Quartet in F major is considered a masterpiece of multi-cultural composition which we will enjoy as it is performed by four outstanding musicians.

When Bob Milne sat down at the piano for a recent meeting of the Treasure Coast Yale Club, the audience was amazed. "It was incredible," explained Lucy Sohm who quickly became a fan of this versatile pianist. "He showed a command of the instrument that is rarely encountered. If we could only hear more!"

Her wish (and the wishes of many others) will be granted in a special performance at The Emerson Center when this exceptional pianist, dubbed a "national treasure" by the Library of Congress, will perform live at 7 PM on Valentine's Day (Tuesday, Feb. 14).

To help make the day even more memorable, the event's sponsor, Monti's Flower Market in Vero Beach (on Commerce Avenue behind Staples), will present a complimentary single red rose to the first 200 couples (or unaccompanied ladies) purchasing their tickets in advance. "We want to help make this special evening even more special," states Monti Jones, owner of Vero's creative floral design shop, "and nothing sets the tone more perfectly than flowers."

While pianist Milne's forte is spirited ragtime/boogie-woogie music (in this genre, his performances are critically acclaimed around the world), for this February 14 performance, he will build a diverse show which also incorporates romantic melodies spanning the decades. "You'll want to grab somebody's hand and give it a squeeze," Milne advises our audience. "If you feel like tapping your toes, go right ahead. And, if you want to dance in the aisles, enjoy yourself. We will have no shortage of fun at this Valentine's concert."

 

Learn more about this diverse and capable musician from his website at http://BobMilne.com.

Advance tickets ($20 per person) for this evening performance, which include a complimentary rose for the first 200 couples (or unaccompanied ladies), are available online or by calling The Emerson Center's box office at 772.778.5249. Tickets will be available at the door for $25.

A Valentine's suggestion: Make Valentine's Day even more special for the one you love by visiting or calling the floral experts at Monti's Flower Market. They're located at 1163 Commerce Avenue (directly behind Staples on US 1) and their phone number is 772.778.9850. Want something really special? Contact Monti Jones directly via .