Palm Springs International Piano Competition holds first concert under new name

Desert Sun staff
·1 min read
Simon Karakulidi performs Prokofiev’s Concerto No. 1 in D flat major during the Waring International Piano Competition at the McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert, Calif., Monday, April 18, 2022.
Simon Karakulidi performs Prokofiev’s Concerto No. 1 in D flat major during the Waring International Piano Competition at the McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert, Calif., Monday, April 18, 2022.

The debut fundraising concert of the Palm Springs International Piano Competition — formerly known as The Waring — will take place Nov. 15 at the Annenberg Theater in the Palm Springs Art Museum.

"We wanted to do something fun with a variety of music," said event co-chair CJ Westrick-Bomar. "Besides featuring a young virtuoso teen winner, the program includes platinum-selling crossover artist John Bayless, Broadway performer Julie Garnye and versatile 2022 contestant Andrew Boyle."

Co-chair Sandy Woodson said: "The evening's focus is on American composers, including Irving Berlin, Leonard Bernstein, Hoagy Carmichael, Howard Arlen, Johnny Mercer, Samuel Barber and Scott Joplin. We want to give the audience what they didn't know they wanted."

VIP tickets that include Toast of the Town cocktails and a dining reception in the museum's atrium are $250 and $200. Concert-only tickets are $100. Sponsorships with premier theater seating and reserved seating at the after-party start at $1,000 and go up to $7,500.

The event will start at 6 p.m.

Proceeds will pay for student musical engagement assemblies and support the free competition rounds at the 2024 junior and intermediate international piano competitions.

Platinum sponsors are the late Peggy Cravens and JoAnn Wellner. Silver sponsors are CJ Westrick-Bomar, Kay Hanson and Sandy Woodson.

The mission of the Palm Springs International Piano Competition is to excite, educate and engage the community at large with the joy of classical piano by presenting, promoting and nurturing classical music through live piano performance including international competitions, concerts, and local educational outreach programs for all ages.

For more information on the Palm Springs International Piano Competition, visit vwipc.org. To purchase tickets for the event, visit psmuseum.org/events.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Palm Springs International Piano Competition holds concert under new name

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