TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Seats have sold out for the Itzhak Perlman concert April 12, wrapping up the 2007-2008 Celebrity Series in The University of Alabama College of Arts and Sciences’ School of Music.
The internationally acclaimed violinist will perform with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra for the Frank Moody Memorial Concert at 7:30 p.m. in the Concert Hall of the Moody Music Building on the UA campus.
A last remaining pair of tickets will be available at auction at the College’s upcoming fundraising event, The Arty Party, April 4. For more information, visit www.as.ua.edu/artyparty.
“Once again The University of Alabama Celebrity Series will feature one of the musical giants of our time, Itzhak Perlman. The response for the concert has been impressive; we sold out the 1,000-seat concert hall more than two weeks before the event,” said Charles Sneed, director of the College’s School of Music. “Mr. Perlman is one of the most widely recognized and heard musicians in the world and is consistently viewed as one of the greatest violinists of all time. It is always a joy to hear him as he plays with remarkable technical precision and artistry.”
Beloved for his charm and humanity as well as his talent, Perlman has come to be recognized by audiences all over the world who respond not only to his flawless technique, but to his irrepressible joy of making music.
Born in Israel in 1945, Perlman completed his initial training at the Academy of Music in Tel Aviv. He came to New York and soon was propelled into the international arena with an appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show” in 1958. Following his studies at the Juilliard School, Perlman won the prestigious Leventritt Competition in 1964, which led to a burgeoning worldwide career.
Perlman has been honored with four Emmy Awards, 15 Grammy Awards and his recordings regularly appear on the best-seller charts. Harvard, Yale, Brandeis, Roosevelt, Yeshiva and Hebrew universities are among the institutions that have awarded him honorary degrees.
President Ronald Reagan honored Perlman with a Medal of Liberty in 1986. And in 2000, President Bill Clinton awarded Perlman the National Medal of Arts.
One of Perlman’s proudest achievements was his collaboration with film score composer John Williams in Steven Spielberg’s Academy Award winning film “Schindler’s List,” in which he performed the violin solos. His stage presence speaks eloquently on behalf of the disabled, and his devotion to their cause is an integral part of his life.
The Celebrity Series, which is sponsored by the Gloria Narramore Moody Foundation, has brought world-renowned artists to Tuscaloosa since 1988. The Moody Foundation was founded in 1990 by Gloria Moody and her husband, the late Tuscaloosa businessman Frank McCorkle Moody, to support the arts and music. The Moody Foundation also has endowed scholarships at UA and has supported arts organizations elsewhere in the United States.
Contact
Sarah Colwell, College of Arts and Sciences, 205/348-8539, sccolwell@as.ua.edu