pianists at tea

i just took a break from work I was doing (boring stuff like answering emails, keeping in touch with Vienna, etc.)

and had tea with a pianist in his final year of a Masters program at Julliard. 

A friend of Fr. Paul's since 2 years or so, Evan Shinners hails from Denver, CO, which I thought was cool enough.

But then we got on the top of art exhibits and music, and I then learned that just back in January he did an installment at the MOMA playing the piano, from INSIDE an old german piano with a hole cut into it, which means he learned and performed for thousands of visitors the entire 9th symphony of Beethoven...BACKWARDS from INSIDE a piano, while he pushed it around the lobby of the MOMA on wheels. 

click here to view a video interview

and click here for an article by CBS on his performance

When they were describing tis exhibit to me, I didn't understand that the pianist was him...so I dumbly asked if Fr. Paul had actually met this artist. They replied, laughing at me, that in fact I knew him to. 

coming back to work on my computer I shamelessly googled him...and I wanted to share his awe-inspiring talent with you. 

His special love is the musical art of Johann Sebastian Bach, with Beethoven as the runner-up....so of course I instantly invited him to Vienna. I hope he comes as soon as possible! 

check out his website: www.evanshinners.com

Just to give you a little background on his life as an artist: 

(all of which I just learned through google because all we talked about in our conversation was the time he spent backpacking through Ireland) 

Juilliard pianist Evan Shinners is an emerging icon in both classical and popular music. He made his orchestral debut with the Utah symphony at age 12, and in the past two seasons appeared at Carnegie Hall, Steinway Hall, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Avery Fisher Hall, Jordan Hall in Boston, Verizon Hall at the Kimell Center in Philadelphia, with tours of Ireland, Germany, parts of Asia and Canada. As a classical pianist he was recently hailed by David Dubal as “the greatest Bach interpreter since Glenn Gould” and next season plans to record and perform all seven Bach toccatas. As a performer of his original music, he and his band, the SUITS! have appeared throughout the United States, Sweden, Canada, England and completed a United States tour this summer, with guest appearances on Colorado Public Radio.

And this is his latest project--check it out, enjoy it, support it

In conjunction with his performances at MoMA, Evan Shinners has also been running a successful crowdfunding campaign on RocketHub in order to raise funds for the recording and release of his live Bach performance album, titled “@bach.”

The campaign is still ongoing at: http://www.rockethub.com/projects/674-evan-shinners-bach

Shinners views both projects as a simultaneous campaign to bring classical music into the 21st century through a set of innovative live performances and Internet-powered outreach. “This is a unique glimpse into the world of classical music. ‘@bach’ is the present and future of the classical music concert.”

RocketHub Co-Founder and CEO, Brian Meece describes Evan Shinners “as an extremely talented and modern artist who is taking classical music into new and uncharted territories. RocketHub is honored to provide a creative venue and career launchpad for Evan.”