RENO PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA HOSTS PIANO PRODIGY
AT MARCH RENO PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA CONCERT SET 

RENO, Nev. (March 2010) – Fifteen-year-old pianist Conrad Tao of New York City is the featured soloist for the Reno Philharmonic Orchestra’s “Art of Concerto” Concert on Sunday, March 14 and Tuesday, March 16 led by Laura Jackson, music director.

The “Art of Concerto” concert will highlight the orchestra’s instruments, using music from varied periods in classical music. To begin, the orchestra will pare down, to a small ensemble, to perform the baroque style Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 3. Moving to the classical era, the RPO will perform Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 22 featuring Conrad Tao. Finishing the timeline, the orchestra will feature each of the groups of instruments in the modern composition, Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra.
In 2008, Tao was named a Davidson Fellow Laureate and received a $50,000 scholarship from the Davidson Institute for Talent Development, a national non-profit based in Reno whose mission is to support profoundly gifted young people (DavidsonGifted.org). The Davidson Institute is underwriting Tao’s Reno performance. 

Currently enrolled in Juilliard’s Pre-College Division studying piano and violin, Tao displayed an interest in music at 18 months and began taking formal piano lessons. At age 8, Tao made his concerto debut performing Mozart’s Piano Concerto in A major. Tao has been featured on National Public Radio’s “From the Top” and in the PBS series, “From the Top - Live from Carnegie Hall.” He was the winner of Juilliard Pre-College’s Gina Bachauer Piano Competition and is a five-time consecutive winner of the ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer award. His past performances include those with the California Symphony, the San Francisco Symphony, the Russian National Orchestra and many others. This year Tao will debut with the Symphony of the Americas as a violin and piano soloist. He will also make recital debuts at the Ravinia Festival in Chicago and the Louvre in France.

Music Director Laura Jackson will be speaking at the Preview from the Podium. These pre-concert talks are one-half hour prior to each performance and include information about the composers and/or works the orchestra will perform. The preview is free for all ticket holders in the “Exhibition hall” at the Pioneer Center. 

All performances take place in the Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts. Single ticket prices start at $28, with discounts available to seniors. Students can come for “rush” seating for $8.00 a ticket, one hour before performance, and must bring valid student ID.

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Summary of Calendar Information
MasterClassics 5 – Sunday, March 14, 4 p.m.; Tuesday, March 16, 7:30 p.m.; Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts

Johannes Sebastian Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 3
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 22, featuring Conrad Tao, Piano
Béla Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra

Davidson Institute for Talent Development
9665 Gateway Drive, Suite B
Reno, Nevada 89521
775-852-3483
Fax: 775-852-2184
www.DavidsonGifted.org