BOCA RATON – Violinist Sarah Chang will headline a March 10 concert at the Festival of the Arts Boca, festival officials said today.
Chang, whose participation was kept under wraps until now, will perform the Violin Concerto No. 1 (in G minor, Op. 26) of Max Bruch at the concert, which will be held at the Mizner Park Amphitheater. Pianist Daniel Hsu will open the program performing Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 (in B-flat minor, Op. 23) with The Symphonia Boca Raton under conductor Constantine Kitsopoulos.
Chang is one of the most prodigious child musicians in history, performing as a guest soloist with the New York Philharmonic at the age of 8. She has since become an audience favorite, appearing with various major orchestras and conductors, and recording more than 20 albums for EMI Classics. She performs on a 1717 Guarneri that previously belonged to the legendary American violin virtuoso Isaac Stern.
Hsu is a fast-rising talent from the Bay Area in California who recently was named the first prize winner at the 2015 CAG Victor Elmaleh Competition. He has earned top prizes in numerous other competitions and is currently a student of Gary Graffman at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia.
The 11th Annual Festival of the Arts Boca will take place from March 2-12. This year, it features jazz stars such as Branford Marsalis and Joey Alexander, a semi-staged presentation of Puccini’s La Bohème, and authors including Jennifer Egan and Brian Greene. For program details and ticketing, please visit www.festivalboca.org or call (866) 571-ARTS (866-571-2787).
PGA Arts Center to Open in Palm Beach Gardens
PALM BEACH GARDENS – Two veteran theater producers have announced plans to open the PGA Arts Center, a new venue for live theater, later this month.
Philip Roger Roy and Dana Matthow are in the process of converting two of the PGA Cinemas’ six auditoriums to accommodate live productions. The two theaters will seat 260 and 280 patrons, respectively, and they are planning to adapt a third space within the next year.
Roy and Matthow are lifelong friends and have been producing partners for well over 20 years. Together, they run the popular Penn’s Landing Playhouse in Philadelphia while also producing shows in various cities across the United States and Canada.
The duo are no strangers to owning theaters and producing shows. Roy ran Grendel’s Lair in Philadelphia for 15 years, and Matthow owned the Soho Playhouse in New York City’s Greenwich Village for 10 years. They said are excited to exhibit their niche of Off Broadway comedies and musicals in the receptive market of South Florida.
“We hope to bring year-round professional theater to the Palm Beach market with (mostly) shows never seen here before,” Roy said.
The PGA Arts Center’s first production, Alan Jacobson’s WaistWatchers: The Musical!, is projected to open for previews Jan. 25 and runs through March 26. The well-known satire about the agony of dieting has been updated with new music by Vince Di Mura, fitted with Jacobson’s diet-oriented lyrics.
Additionally, Brad Zimmerman’s My Son the Waiter: A Jewish Tragedy, another familiar staple in South Florida, will begin a limited run in the second theater on Feb. 2.
The PGA Arts Center is located at 4076 PGA Blvd. For more information, call 855-448-7469. — Compiled by Rielle Sukhu