PIANIST TRAVELS THROUGH THE UNITED STATES TO PERFORM AMERICAN MUSIC – APPEARS IN CHAMBERSBURG ON AUGUST 15

CHAMBERSBURG.  As part of an ambitious concert series which will take him to each of the 50 United States, pianist Adam Tendler will present “America 88x50: Music by Americans" on Monday, August 15, at 7:00 pm in Thomson Chapel, Wilson College, Chambersburg, PA.  Admission to the concert is free.  It is sponsored by the Cumberland Valley School of Music.

Celebrated for his "brilliant" interpretations, and reviewed as "deserving of the cheers he received…a pianist in command," Adam Tendler has emerged from the rural hills of Vermont as a young, American pianist recognized for his musical sensitivity, daring, ambition, and advocacy.  A 2003 graduate of the Indiana University School of Music, Tendler soon discovered that, although he pursued music for the joy it brings, the traditional avenues open to a musician are somewhat restrictive and don't necessarily lead one to happiness.

"It's a dilemma that anyone who ends up with an arts degree has to face," Tendler notes. "You can go back to school, or take a job that is outside your training to make ends meet, or you start competing with your colleagues for the few jobs that are out there.

"It's not that I think I'm above any of these options -- I know I will have to accept one eventually.  But I sensed that I had this window of opportunity now, to do something interesting and important, to play music that deserves to be heard to people who might not get the chance to hear it."

So Tendler set out on a self-financed solo piano concert tour that he calls "America 88x50: Music by Americans." So far, he's visited 15 of the 50 United States.

The program for the concert will feature pieces by four composers, representing North and South America. While some of the names will be familiar to music lovers -- Aaron Copland, Charles Ives, Alberto Ginastera, Charles Tomlinson Griffes -- the pieces Tendler will perform won't be.

"I felt some kind of responsibility to represent as many different sides as I could fit into a program,” Tendler says.  "And I wanted to play music that people aren't familiar with. When you play music that people know, you're giving them an opportunity to relax, to not pay attention to what's going on. And Aaron Copland said, the point of coming to a concert isn't to relax, to be consoled or put to sleep, but to be stimulated in some way. That's the reason why people, for example, go to the theater or read a book. Music shouldn't be an exception."

The program he will perform in Chambersburg includes Ives' "Three-Page Sonata," the "Doce Preludios Americanos" by Ginastera, Griffe's "Three Tone-Pictures," Op. 5 and the "Four Piano Blues" by Copland.

Tendler is underwriting the costs of his tour himself.  He also recorded a CD of music by Mozart, Brahms, Prokofiev and Hindemith that he sells at his concerts, to help raise additional funds.

Although he has performed in Chicago, San Francisco, New York, and Tulsa, most of his concerts have been in smaller towns.

"I've had several hundred people show up for a concert, and I've had 12 people in the audience," Tendler says. "As long as there's one person in the hall, I'll perform for that one person."

For more information, call the Cumberland Valley School of Music at 717-261-1220