News Release
October 2005
Bethlehem, Pa. October 20, 2005—The Piano Masters @ Moravian
College Series continues with a performance by acclaimed jazz pianist and composer
Renee Rosnes on Thursday, October 27 at 7:30 p.m. The concert will be held in Peter
Hall, Priscilla Payne Hurd Campus, located at the corner of Main and Church Streets
in Bethlehem. Tickets are $35 and can be purchased online at www.pianoculture.com or
at the door. For tickets and more information, call (610) 515-1025.
Rosnes is also a founding member of the San Francisco Jazz Collective,
an octet of world-class jazz musicians. The group is directed by Joshua Redman and
also includes Bobby Hutchinson, Miguel Zenón, Josh Roseman, Robert Hurst, Brian Blade, and Payton. She has won
several awards, the most notable being 3 Junos (the Canadian equivalent of a Grammy)
for Album of the Year in 1992, 1994, and 1996 and 3 Jazz Report Awards – the 1995
Best Pianist of the Year and the 1997 Best Album of the Year and Best Pianist of the
Year.
Rosnes grew up in Vancouver, where she began playing the piano at
age three. She studied classical performance at the University of Toronto and came
to New York City on a grant from the Canada Council of the Arts in 1986. There she
began playing with jazz masters such as J.J. Johnson, Joe Henderson, Wayne Shorter,
and James Moody. She released her first album under the Blue Note Records label in
1989. Later releases include guest appearances with artists such as Henderson, Shorter,
Herbie Hancock, Branford Marsalis, Chris Potter, Nicholas Payton, Jack DeJohnette,
and Christian McBride. Her ninth and latest album, Renee Rosnes and the Danish Radio
Big Band, features the artist in her first recording with a large jazz orchestra. Several
of the tracks on the new CD are rearrangements of Rosnes’ earlier compositions.
She is currently working on an album, When You Wish upon a Star, with Billy and Ray
Drummond.
The Piano Masters @ Moravian College Series brings renowned pianists of many different
styles to the college. Previous performers include Helio Alves and Joshua Pierce. Juan
Jose Chuquisengo and Jung Lin are scheduled to appear on November 10; Benny Green and
Eduardus Halim on January 26; Joel Fan on February 9; Cyrus Chestnut on March 2; Frank
Kimbrough and Jenny Lin on March 30, and Nadejda Vlaeva on April 6.
Moravian College is a private, coeducational, selective liberal arts college located
in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Tracing its founding to 1742, it is recognized as America's
sixth-oldest college. Visit the web site at www.moravian.edu.
