Saturday, September 21, 2024 | 7:30pm
The Lucas Theatre for the Arts
Keitaro Harada conductor
David Fray piano
PROKOFIEV Classical Symphony
MOZART Piano Concerto No. 21 in C, K.467, “Elvira Madigan”
ERIC JONES (new work | Savannah Philharmonic commission!)
MOZART Symphony No. 35 in D, K.385, “Haffner”
Acclaimed for his interpretations of music from Bach to Boulez, pianist David Fray appears in the world’s most prestigious halls in recital, symphonic and in chamber music. He has collaborated with the greatest conductors, including Marin Alsop, Semyon Bychkov, Christoph Eschenbach, Paavo Järvi, Kurt Masur, Riccardo Muti, Yannick Nézet-Seguin, Esa-Pekka Salonen and Jaap van Zweden. He regularly performs with orchestras such as the Orchestre de Paris, the Orchestre de l’Opéra National de Paris, the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Deutsche Sinfonie-Orchester, Bayerische Rundfunk Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Cleveland, San Francisco, Boston, Chicago Symphonies, New York Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, Salzburg Mozarteum Orchester, Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, NHK Japan, Jerusalem Symphony.
He plays on prestigious stages, such as the Philharmonie de Paris, the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Wigmore Hall, Carnegie Hall, Musikverein in Vienna, as well as at the BBC Proms, the Aix-en-Provence Easter Festival, Prague Spring Festival, Gstaad Musical Summits.
In 2023/24 David Fray appears with the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Jaap van Zweden at the Prince’s Palace in Monaco, at the Salzburg Festival with members of the Vienna Philharmonic, at the Schwarzenberg Schubertiades, with the Pacific Symphony conducted by Alexander Shelley, the Vienna Radio Symphony and Marin Alsop with “The Age of Anxiety” by Leonard Bernstein, La Scala in Milan and Lorenzo Viotti, the Orchestre National de France and Jaap van Zweden, the Orchestre de Chambre de Paris in a play & conduct program, as well as in recitals in prestigious venues such as the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées and the Salle Gaveau in Paris, Serate Musicali in Milan, Teatro San Carlo in Naples, and Beethoven-Haus in Bonn.
David Fray is an exclusive Erato/Warner artist.
Eric Jones was born in Moultrie, Georgia, and started to play piano by ear at the age of five.At 11, Eric began studying trumpet and went on to pursue his education at Armstrong Atlantic State University, studying under Dr. Kevin Hampton, graduating with a B.A. in Piano.
In addition to teaching private lessons, composing and arranging, he completed his Masters in Composition from Georgia Southern University, where he studied under Dr. Martin Gendelman. Eric has worked with a diverse range of artists that includes Grammy Award-winning bassist and vocalist Esperanza Spalding, Stewart Copland of the Police and Keith Miller of the Metropolitan Opera, Rachel Waiters of Memphis Opera, Wyclef Gordon to name few.
In 2011 he was commissioned by the Savannah Children’s Choir to composed a piece based on the work of Harlem Rennaissance poet James Weldon Johnson’“The Creation” for solo vocalists,orchestra and choir. “Songs of Creation” premiered in the spring of 2012. In 2019, Eric released his debut album “Azubuike” which is translated in Igbo “the past is our strength” featuring the trio of Marc Chesanow on bass and Robert Saunders on drums.
He has worked with Savannah Music Festival’s Musical Explorers, Savannah Jazz Festival. He became the Interim Music Director of SMF Jazz Academy for 2019-20 school year. He has been apart of the Savannah Jazz Orchestra for over five years. In 2020, Eric was inducted into the Savannah Jazz Hall of Fame. He joined the company of James Moody, Ben Tucker just to name a few. Currently Eric is teaching at Savannah State while maintaining an active performance schedule with various ensembles in the southeast region. Eric is also working in diverse form of media such as music for podcast and video. In the spring of 2023, Eric completed a tour with virtuoso violinist Daniel Hope and the Zurrich Chamber Orchestra.
Presently Eric is completing a commissioned work by the Savannah Philharmonic which will premiere September 21st 2024.
