MBL Falmouth Forum Features Piano in the 21st Century

WOODS HOLE, MA—Concert pianist Michael Mizrahi will perform and discuss The Piano in the 21^st Century at the next MBL Falmouth Forum, Friday, February 6 at 7:30 PM in the MBL’s Lillie Auditorium, MBL Street in Woods Hole. Sponsored by the MBL Associates, and generously supported this season by Sandy and David Bakalar, the performance is free and open to the public. This event is this season’s Herman T. Epstein Endowed Memorial Lectureship.

Mizrahi has won acclaim for his compelling performances of a wide-ranging repertoire and his ability to connect with audiences of all ages. He has appeared as concerto soloist, recitalist, chamber musician, and teaching artist across the United States and abroad.

Mizrahi has performed in the world’s leading concert halls including Carnegie Hall, Tokyo’s Suntory Hall, and the Kennedy Center and has performed as soloist with major orchestras including the Houston Symphony, National Symphony, Haddonfield Symphony, Sioux City Symphony, and Prince Georges Philharmonic.  He has given solo recitals at the Phillips Collection in Washington, DC and has made repeated appearances on the Dame Myra Hess Concert Series in Chicago.

An enthusiastic promoter of music education, Mizrahi has presented lecture-recitals and master classes at The American School in Switzerland, the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, and the University of Nebraska at Omaha. As a member of Carnegie Hall’s prestigious Academy program and Teaching Artists Collaborative, he spent several hours a week as a teaching artist in New York City public schools.

Mizrahi is a founding member of NOW Ensemble, a chamber group devoted to the commissioning and performing of new music by emerging composers. NOW Ensemble released its second album, Awake, to critical acclaim in 2011. Mizrahi released The Bright Motion, an album of newly commissioned works for solo piano, on the New Amsterdam Records label in 2012. His music video, also called The Bright Motion, was lauded by National Public Radio and New Yorker music critic Alex Ross.

An optional buffet dinner will precede the Mizrahi's presentation at 6:00 PM at the MBL’s Swope Center, 5 North Street, Woods Hole. Tickets are $30 (meal includes salad, pasta or potatoes, two entrees, wine, dessert, tax and gratuity) and must be purchased in advance at Eight Cousins Bookstore, Main Street, Falmouth or at the MBL Communications Office, 127 Water Street, Woods Hole.  Please note, Eight Cousins will be closed from January 26 through February 4. Dinner tickets are available until they sell out or until 5:00 pm on Tuesday, February 3. For more information, contact the MBL Communications Office at (508) 289-7423 or comm@mbl.edu.

The remainder of the 2014-2015 season includes the following two presentations. Visit mbl.edu/falmouth-forum for details and updated information.

February 27, 2015      
Out of the Blue: Nantucket and the Pacific World
Edward Melillo, Assistant Professor of History and Environmental Studies, Amherst College

March 13, 2015
The Economic Costs of Climate Change
Benjamin Jones, Faculty Director, Kellogg Innovation and Entrepreneurship Initiative, Northwestern University

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The Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) is dedicated to scientific discovery and improving the human condition through research and education in biology, biomedicine, and environmental science. Founded in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, in 1888, the MBL is a private, nonprofit institution and an affiliate of the University of Chicago.

The MBL Associates are a group of individuals and businesses that support the scientific mission of the MBL through their gifts to the Annual Fund. The Associates sponsor educational and research programs for the MBL and raise funds for special projects. In addition, they operate the MBL Gift Shop, located on Water Street in Woods Hole, the profits from which support scientific fellowships.