The Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College presents pianist Adam Swanson in concert Friday, September 9, 7:30pm and celebrates some of the greatest American popular music of the first half of the twentieth century.
In addition to his pianistic skill, Adam entertains his audiences with history and stories behind the music, taking them on a tour through the American musical past, culminating with his personal arrangement of Gershwin’s famous “Rhapsody in Blue.” His performances have taken him from the historic Strater Hotel in Durango, Colorado, to Carnegie Hall and venues across Europe and Australia.
Adam Swanson is one of the world’s foremost pianists and historians of vintage American popular music, including ragtime, early jazz, the Great American Songbook, and more. He has been a featured performer and lecturer at ragtime and jazz festivals across the United States and abroad, and is the only four-time winner of the World Championship Old-Time Piano Playing Contest. Adam made his New York debut in Carnegie Hall at the age of nineteen, where he performed with Michael Feinstein. He appeared alongside pianist John Arpin at the Bohem Ragtime and Jazz Festival in the Republic of Hungary, and he has also toured Switzerland and Australia. Adam has accompanied silent films at the prestigious Cinecon Classic Film Festival at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood and performed privately for Oscar-winning Disney/Hollywood composer Richard M. Sherman (Mary Poppins, etc.). At the age of twenty-one, Adam performed a solo concert at the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage in Washington, D.C.
Adam holds a bachelor’s degree in classical piano and a master’s in musicology from the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University. He has been mentored by other ragtime artists including the famed Max Morath and legendary 1950s recording artist Johnny Maddox, who was one of Adam’s greatest influences. Adam has recorded albums with noted musicians such as former rock star Ian Whitcomb, the Peacherine Ragtime Society Orchestra, and the Bar D Wranglers, a classic western band. Adam’s recordings have been used on the CBC TV show Murdoch Mysteries.
Tickets are $30 & $20 and available online at www.durangoconcerts.com, or by phone at 970-247-7657. Posted ticket prices include applicable service charges. All sales final.
The Community Concert Hall is a not-for-profit, multi-use performance venue located on the campus of Fort Lewis College. Its ability to bring a diverse spectrum of shows to Southwest Colorado is made possible through a partnership with the college, a state-supported, independent institution of higher education, and financial and in-kind contributions from generous members of the community.
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