Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota Presents Young Concert Artists International Star Xavier Foley With Kelly Lin

Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota welcomes 2020 with a performance by Xavier Foley, the captivating young bassist who is taking the classical music world by storm with his rare and dazzling command of the double-bass, Sunday, January 12, 3:00 p.m. at the Historic Asolo Theater, 5401 Bay Shore Road, Sarasota. Foley is joined by his frequent collaborator, pianist Kelly Lin, in a program that includes works by Schubert, Mozart and Glière, as well as original compositions by Foley himself. Reserved seat tickets are $25 to $45; $10 student tickets are available at the door with current student ID. Tickets are available online at www.artistseriesconcerts.org or by calling 941-306-1202.

Move over violin! For the past several years, dazzling young bassist Xavier Foley has been thrilling audiences and critics alike with the stunning musical magic he makes with the essential but often overlooked double bass. Foley's playing makes this largest and lowest member of the string family as important as any solo instrument. The Philadelphia Inquirer calls him a "spectacular player" and one who is "blissfully unaware that dazzling virtuosity is usually someone else's job." Winner of a prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant, Foley has also won a Young Concert Artists International Auditions prize, first prize at Astral's National Auditions, and two International Society of Bassists competitions. A native of Marietta, Georgia, Foley was also featured recently on PBS Thirteen's NYC-ARTs and was named to New York WQXR's "19 Artists to Watch" list for 2019. He has performed at Carnegie Hall and as a soloist with the Atlanta Symphony and Philadelphia Orchestra, amongst others. He is currently a resident artist of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center's CMS Two.

Joining Foley will be pianist Kelly Lin, a sought-after accompanist whose groundbreaking collaborations with Foley have dazzled audiences and been hailed by critics for their "agile interplay between piano and bass," as well as their "radical, riveting reinventions of old classics."

The duo will be performing their critically acclaimed program that includes Foley's reinvention of Mozart's Violin Sonata in E Minor, that transposes the violin part to a range comparable to a cello's; Schubert's "Arpeggione" Sonata, D 821, which showcases Foley's vast range, utilizing every bit of the bass's vast sonic capability; their phantasmagorical take on Glière's Intermezzo and Tarantella; and original compositions by Foley.

"Xavier Foley is a creative force to be reckoned with. There's nothing this guy can't do," says Joseph Holt, director of artist programs for Artist Series Concerts. "He's also an extroverted and engaging performer, a real crowd pleaser. As critic Andrew Sammut of the Boston Classical Review says, 'Foley brings high entertainment to a low instrument.'"