Orrett Rhoden, the internationally-acclaimed piano maestro who hails from Jamaica, is set to delight the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theatre, Oct. 8, among a group of classical pianists. The musicians will showcase interpretations of classical music greats Beethoven, Chopin and Galuppi, among others.
The pianist has done several recitals at New York’s historic Carnegie Hall, London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall and St. John’s Smith Square, and has performed an All-Bach recital in Bolzano, Italy, as part of the Busoni International Piano Competition. He has appeared at the Conservatory of Music in Barcelona, Spain, and performed with such conductors as Andre Bernard, Harry Levinson, Claudio Abbado and Virginia-Gene Rittenhouse.
Rhoden has twice appeared on the “Late Night Show” featuring Joan Rivers in Hollywood and other talk shows throughout the United States, the United Kingdom and China.
Rhoden’s mentors and teachers include Jamaica’s Rita Coore and Maxine Franklin, as well as Dr. Virginia-Gene Rittenhouse, Rosalyn Tureck, Nina Svetlanova and Andrew Esterhazy. In 2005, Orrett Rhoden received the award for outstanding achievement in music from the prime minister of Jamaica.
In his performance at the Kennedy Center, Rhoden will perform selections from Mendelssohn, Granados, Beethoven, and Chopin, Rhoden’s favorite composer.
The program is hosted by the New York-based American Foundation for The University of the West Indies (AFUWI) and The University of the West Indies Alumni Association-Washington, D.C., chapter, under the patronage of the University’s chancellor, Sir George Alleyne. Partial sponsorship for the event is being provided by Goodworks International, the Futures Group, the Pan American Health and Education Foundation and RuderFinn.
The recital begins at 7:30 p.m. $60. For more information visit kennedy-center.org or call 800-444-1324.