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MUSIC ACADEMY OF THE WEST ANNOUNCES GUEST ARTISTS, CO-
CHAIRS, FOR OPENING NIGHT GALA, HONORING A LEGEND
June 14 Gala to celebrate Jerome Lowenthal’s 50th anniversary as an acclaimed
piano faculty artist at the Music Academy, with a concert featuring Academy
alumni
Gala is Co-Chaired by Michele Brustin, Stephanie Shuman and Warren Staley,
with Honorary Chairs Leatrice Luria and Kandy Luria-Budgor
Honorary Chairs Kandy Luria-Budgor and Leatrice Luria with Alumnus pianist/Gala guest artist Evan Shinners (’09) and Co-Chairs Michele Brustin, Stephanie Shuman and Warren Staley. Credit: Phil Channing
Santa Barbara, CA — The Music Academy of the West will host their Opening Night Gala, aptly
themed “Honoring a Legend” on Friday, June 14 celebrating Jerome Lowenthal’s 50th
anniversary as an acclaimed faculty artist at the Music Academy and the 72nd anniversary of the
Summer School and Festival. All proceeds will benefit the Academy’s full-scholarship program
that brings 140 fellows from across the country and around the world to study and perform with
world-class faculty and guest artists in Santa Barbara during the eight weeks. Guests will enjoy a
spectacular evening from start to finish, including a 5 pm cocktail reception, a 6 pm performance
at Hahn Hall, and an al fresco dinner in the Miraflores courtyard that includes a special encore
performance.
An archival photo of Honoree Jerome Lowenthal pictured at the Music Academy in the 1970’s.
The unforgettable concert program, curated by the honoree, will feature star-studded Academy
alumni pianists Micah McLaurin (’14, ’16), Elizabeth Roe (’01), Evan Shinners (’09), and Orion
Weiss (’00), guest artist pianist Ursula Oppens, and Jerry Lowenthal himself. Jerry‘s program will
reflect on his illustrious career. The concert will be held in the Music Academy’s intimate Hahn
Hall, which the Santa Barbara Independent dubs an “ultra- luxurious jewel-box venue.”
The Gala Co-Chairs are former Board member Michele Brustin, Board member Stephanie
Shuman, and Board Chair Warren Staley, with Honorary Chairs Leatrice Luria and Kandy Luria-
Budgor. Gala Committee Members comprise Sharon Bradford, Paul Guido, Georgia Lynn,
Maurice Singer, Diane Sullivan, Anne Towbes, and Pam Valeski.
Lead supporters for the event are Artist Sponsors Stephanie and Fred Shuman, and Dinner
Sponsors Mary Lynn and Warren Staley.
"This is such a special opportunity to honor one of the Academy's and Santa Barbara's legendary
artists. Jerry has given so much to our organization and to this community – and on June 14, 350
of his biggest fans get to say 'thank you'" – Michele Brustin, Gala Co-Chair
About Jerome Lowenthal
Jerome Lowenthal, born in 1932, has been a
prominent presence in the international piano world
for more than sixty years. A student of three
legendary musicians – William Kapell, Eduard
Steuermann and Alfred Cortot (with coachings from
Arthur Rubinstein) – Mr. Lowenthal has performed a
voluminous and variegated repertoire that includes
more than 63 different concerti, which he has
performed with many of the world’s greatest
conductors. Mr. Lowenthal’s recordings, for RCA
Victor, Columbia, Bridge, and LPClassics, include
both canonical repertoire by Beethoven, Chopin, and
Tchaikovsky and the music of our time by Rzewski,
Rorem, and Rochberg, Chihara and Corigliano, and
Messiaen and Michael Brown. Mr. Lowenthal has
performed in a large number of chamber music festivals and collaborated in concerts with
violinist Itzhak Perlman, cellist Nathaniel Rosen, and pianists Ronit Amir, Ursula Oppens, Carmel
Lowenthal, Vassily Primakov, and Michael Brown. Mr. Lowenthal has served on the juries of the
Cliburn, Tchaikovsky, Rubinstein, Cleveland, and Leeds piano competitions. As a teacher at The
Juilliard School since 1991, Mr. Lowenthal has been a mentor to many of the most internationally
prominent of young pianists of our time. 2019 will mark his 50th summer at the Music Academy
of the West.
Gala Partnerships
The Music Academy is grateful for exceptional Gala partners including: Seasons Catering,
featuring scrumptious farm-to-table fare; Alexis Ireland Florals; Ambient Event Design, providing
stunning lighting of our spectacular grounds; Town & Country Event Rentals; and La Tavola,
providing luxurious linens.
For Tickets
Seating will be limited to 350 guests, allowing for an up-close-and-personal experience with the
artists. Ticket and tables prices include $500 individual tickets and sponsored tables of ten with
concert tickets at $5,000, $10,000, $25,000, $50,000, and $100,000. There is also the opportunity
to contribute to a special Jerry Lowenthal Tribute Book. A half page tribute is $250 and a full page
tribute is $500.
For table sponsorships and more information, please contact Allie Rigonati by email at
[email protected], by phone at 805-695-7929, or visit musicacademy.org/gala to
purchase tickets and tables online.
About the Artists
Winner of the 2016 Gilmore Young Artist Award, Micah
McLaurin (’14, ’16) is one of the outstanding and unique pianists
of his generation. Micah McLaurin has performed as soloist with
orchestras worldwide including The Cleveland Orchestra,
Orquestra Filarmonica de Montevideo, Orquestra Juvenil de El
Salvador, numerous times with the Charleston Symphony
Orchestra, Hilton Head Symphony, South Carolina Philharmonic,
Perugia Festival Orchestra, Virginia Symphony, Battle Creek
Symphony, and Music Academy of the West’s Academy Festival
Orchestra. Highlights include engagements with the North
Carolina Symphony, The Paderewski Festival of Raleigh, his debut with the Philadelphia
Orchestra performing Bernstein’s Age of Anxiety, and a performance of Gershwin’s Concerto in
F with the Philadelphia Orchestra at the Mann Center. Born in Charleston, South Carolina, Mr.
McLaurin studied privately with Marsha Gerber and Enrique Graf, and then studied for five
years at the Curtis Institute of Music with Gary Graffman and Robert McDonald, followed by
attending The Juilliard School studying with Jerome Lowenthal and Yoheved Kaplinsky.
Pianist Elizabeth Roe (’01) has been hailed “brilliant” (The New
York Times), “an artist to be taken seriously” (The Chicago
Tribune), “impressive” (BBC Radio), “incisive, lyrical and tender”
(BBC Music Magazine), “sublime” (Classical Ear), “a mature,
fascinating interpreter and an artist of intelligence, insight, and
a genuine grace” (The Southampton Press), and “electrifying”
(The Dallas Morning News), and she was named one of the
classical music world's “Six on the Rise: Young Artists to Watch”
by Symphony Magazine. The recipient of the prestigious
William Petschek Piano Debut Recital Award, she has appeared
as orchestral soloist, recitalist, and collaborative musician at
major venues worldwide, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, the Seoul
Arts Center, the National Performing Arts Center (Beijing), the Ravinia Festival (Chicago), Salle
Cortot (Paris), Teatro Argentino (Buenos Aires), the Esplanade (Singapore), the Adrienne Arsht
Center (Miami), the Banff Centre (Canada), and the Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
(Germany).
Evan Shinners (’09) is known for his unceasing devotion to the
music of J.S. Bach, and his eccentric brand of original music. A
graduate of The Juilliard School, Mr. Shinners is engaged in
reciting the complete keyboard works of Bach over the next
two seasons with recitals in Europe, Taiwan, and New York
City. In 2020 Mr. Shinners aims to recite the keyboard works in
one sitting: a physically and mentally challenging 15-hour
effort. In 2012 he was invited to the White House Lawn to mix
Bach with Holiday songs for 19,000 people at the National
Christmas Tree lighting. In 2014, Tina Howe wrote a one act
play for Mr. Shinners. He both acted and played Bach in an Off-
Broadway production. His Bach-ian films were featured in an art gallery during Bushwick open
studios in 2016 after the creation of his alter-ego, WTF Bach. In the same month he released
two albums including an arrangement of the complete cello suites. In 2018 he released
recordings of the complete French and English suites, the ‘organ sonatas’ arranged for piano,
and the Inventions and Sinfonias under the title The Shape of Bach to Come.
One of the most sought-after soloists in his generation of
young American musicians, the pianist Orion Weiss (’00)
has performed with the major American orchestras,
including the Chicago Symphony, Boston Symphony, Los
Angeles Philharmonic, and New York Philharmonic. His
deeply felt and exceptionally crafted performances go far
beyond his technical mastery and have won him worldwide
acclaim. Named the Classical Recording Foundation’s Young
Artist of the Year in September 2010, in the summer of 2011
Weiss made his debut with the Boston Symphony Orchestra
at Tanglewood as a last-minute replacement for Leon
Fleisher. In recent seasons, he has also performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, San
Francisco Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, Toronto Symphony
Orchestra, National Arts Centre Orchestra, and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and in duo
summer concerts with the New York Philharmonic at both Lincoln Center and the Bravo! Vail
Valley Festival. Awards include the Gilmore Young Artist Award, an Avery Fisher Career Grant,
the Gina Bachauer Scholarship at the Juilliard School and the Mieczyslaw Munz Scholarship.
Mr. Weiss attended the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he studied with Paul Schenly,
Daniel Shapiro, Sergei Babayan, Kathryn Brown, and Edith Reed. In 2004, he graduated from
The Juilliard School, where he studied with Emanuel Ax.
Ursula Oppens, a legend among American pianists, is
widely admired particularly for her original and perceptive
readings of new music, but also for her knowing
interpretations of the standard repertoire. No other artist
alive today has commissioned and premiered more new
works for the piano. A prolific and critically acclaimed
recording artist with five Grammy nominations, Ms.
Oppens most recently released a new recording of
Frederic Rzewski’s The People United Will Never Be
Defeated, nominated for a Grammy in 2016, and Piano
Songs, a collaboration with Meredith Monk. Earlier
Grammy nominations were for Winging It: Piano Music of
John Corigliano; Oppens Plays Carter; a recording of the complete piano works of Elliott Carter
for Cedille Records (also was named a “Best of the Year” selection by The New York Times long-
time music critic Allan Kozinn); Piano Music of Our Time featuring compositions by John Adams,
Elliott Carter, Julius Hemphill, and Conlon Nancarrow for the Music and Arts label, and her cult
classic The People United Will Never Be Defeated by Frederic Rzewski on Vanguard.
About the Music Academy
The Music Academy of the West advances the development of 21st century classically trained
musicians and cultivates discerning, appreciative, and adventurous audiences. Founded in 1947,
the Academy operates on a 10-acre, ocean-side campus in Santa Barbara, California. Music
Academy of the West’s world-renowned eight-week Summer Festival offers more than 200
events. Programs comprise voice, vocal piano, collaborative piano, instrumental, and solo piano.
The Academy began a four-year partnership with the London Symphony Orchestra in 2018
focused on education and performance on both continents. For more information, visit
musicacademy.org.
Released: May 15, 2019
Kate Oberjat
