International Steinway Artist Jim McDonough Announces Holiday Concert Tour and Celebrates 20 Years in Show Business

An Iowa holiday staple is set to return later this year, following a pandemic-related hiatus since 2019, with a statewide concert series, "Christmas with Jim McDonough and His Orchestra: The 20th Anniversary Tour."

Tickets for the seven-city tour are on sale now, including a performance stop at the Coralville Center for the Performing Arts in Coralville on Sunday, November 27th at 2:30 p.m. Other cities on the tour include DeWitt, Ottumwa, Des Moines, Cedar Falls, Cedar Rapids, and Dubuque, Iowa.

The holiday stage production - new for 2022 - features International Steinway Artist Jim McDonough on the concert grand piano, joined by his professional orchestra and singers.

The tour will deliver the message of Christmas in a production suited for all generations. "I'm absolutely thrilled to resume this special holiday tradition, and to do so as I celebrate my twentieth year in show business is extra meaningful," McDonough said. "We're pulling out all the stops to make sure this year's show is fitting of this milestone anniversary," he continued. "With a new stage set and the most spectacular musical arrangements we've ever brought to the stage, it's sure to be the grandest event of the season!"

All seating is reserved. Tickets are $58, and are available online at CoralvilleArts.org. To avoid convenience fees, call the CCPA Box Office at (319) 248-9370 to purchase your tickets. Discounts are available for groups of ten or more. For more information, visit www.PianoFavorites.com.

After stints as a high school band director, cruise ship entertainer and air-traffic controller, Monticello native, Jim McDonough, began selling his distinctive brand of soothing piano music in local gift shops in eastern Iowa - unknowingly launching a production company that now celebrates its twentieth year. Today, the International Steinway Concert and Recording Artist continues to oversee the distribution of his music catalog, while headlining concert tours as a soloist, as well as with his professional orchestra and singers.

The road to success, though, has been paved with detours. In eighth grade, an accident nearly ended his musical career. A falling piano crushed three fingers on his right hand - and nearly crushed his dreams in the process. Jim emerged from two hours of surgery with pins in his fingers and tiny fractures across his hand. But throughout more than a year of physical therapy, Jim kept playing - with a cast on his right hand - and concentrated on improving his performance with his left hand. "Playing the piano defined me," McDonough says. "It was my life, and I was determined to play again." He devoted nearly every spare moment to working to get back the dexterity in his right hand, and the rigorous rehearsing paid off. In ninth grade, instead of a car, Jim bought a Steinway grand piano to celebrate how far he'd come.

In 2010, McDonough was honored by the legendary piano maker, Steinway & Sons, naming him to its worldwide artist roster. As a Steinway Artist, McDonough joins an exclusive international list of the most accomplished and discriminating performing artists, including classical pianist, Lang Lang; jazz star, Harry Connick Jr.; pop icon, Billy Joel; and "immortals," Irving Berlin and Cole Porter.

His discography includes Requests (2002); Home for Christmas (2003); Projections: Songs from the Silver Screen (2004); An Ivory Christmas (2004); Music of the Night (2004); Simple Gifts (2005); With Love (2006); Homeward Bound (2007); Country Dreaming (2008); A Christmas to Remember (2008); Rat Pack Remembered (2009); Isn't It Romantic (2010); Young At Heart (2011); Christmas Eve (2011); One Nation Under God (2012); Country Roads (2013); Broadway Dreams (2014); Holiday Grande (2016); 'Tis the Season (2019); and his latest release, Only You (2021).

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