The Music Institute of Chicago Presents Pianist Conrad Tao Tonight, 5/19

The Music Institute of Chicago presents accomplished and critically acclaimed 17-year-old Chinese-American pianist Conrad Tao in its second annual Emilio del Rosario Distinguished Alumni Concert tonight, May 19 at Nichols Concert Hall, 1490 Chicago Avenue, Evanston. 

Tao will perform Beethoven’s Sonata No. 31 in A-flat Major, Op. 110; selected Rachmaninoff Preludes from Op. 23 and 32; Liszt’s Années de pèlerinage: 1e année: Suisse, S.160, and “Rigoletto” De Verdi – Paraphrase De Concert; Stravinsky’s Trois mouvements de Petroushka; and Tao’s own composition Three Songs. 

About Conrad Tao

An Illinois native and former student of the Music Institute’s late, legendary faculty member Emilio del Rosario, pianist Conrad Tao has been hailed as “the most exciting prodigy to ever come my way” by renowned music critic Harris Goldsmith in Musical America. He has appeared as soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Russian National Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, and many others, as well as in solo recitals worldwide. Highlights of the 2011–12 season include his Detroit Symphony debut, 11 concerto performances in Florida, as well as recitals in Berlin, Paris, and Munich as part of a European tour and performances with orchestras in Mexico, Brazil, and Poland. He is the winner of the 2012 Gilmore Young Artist Award, and Forbes magazine selected him as one of “30 Under 30 in Music.” An accomplished composer, Tao is an eight-time consecutive winner of the ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer award. He attends the Columbia University-Juilliard School joint degree program, studying piano, and he also studies composition at Yale University. His 2010 composition Three Songs, as well as his performances of two Debussy preludes and Stravinsky’sTrois mouvements de Petroushka, have just been released on iTunes as part of The Juilliard Sessions, a partnership between EMI Classics and The Juilliard School.

About the Music Institute of Chicago

The Music Institute of Chicago believes that music has the power to sustain and nourish the human spirit; therefore, our mission is to provide the foundation for lifelong engagement with music. As one of the three largest and most respected community music schools in the nation, the Music Institute offers musical excellence built on the strength of its distinguished faculty, commitment to quality, and breadth of programs and services. Founded in 1931 and one of the oldest community music schools in Illinois, the Music Institute is a member of the National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts and accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music. Each year, the Music Institute’s world-class music teachers and arts therapists provide the highest quality arts education to more than 5,000 students of all ability levels, from birth to 101 years of age at campuses in Evanston, Highland Park, Lake Forest, Lincolnshire, Winnetka, and Downers Grove. The Music Institute also offers lessons and programs at the Steinway of Chicago store in Northbrook and early childhood and community engagement programs throughout the Chicago area and the North Shore. Nichols Concert Hall, an education and performance center in downtown Evanston, reaches approximately 14,000 people each year. The Music Institute’s community engagement and partnership programs reach an additional 6,500 Chicago Public School students annually. The Music Institute offers lessons, classes, and programs through four distinct areas: Community School, The Academy, Creative Arts Therapy (Institute for Therapy through the Arts), and Nichols Concert Hall.