Weekend pick: Keyboard Concerts presents Ran Dank and Soyeon Kate Lee in Friday concert
The concert: The Philip Lorenz International Keyboard Concerts series features Israeli-born pianist Ran Dank, who returns to the series together with his wife, Korean- born pianist Soyeon Kate Lee.
The details: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 15, at the Fresno State Concert Hall. Tickets are $25 adults, $18 seniors and $5 students.
Pictured above: Ran Dank and Soyeon Kate Lee perform Friday, Oct. 15, at the Fresno State Concert Hall.
The artists: Both are prize winners of numerous prestigious competitions, including the Naumburg International Piano Competition and the Sydney International Piano Competition. According to his Wikipedia page, Dan has performed as a soloist with the Cleveland Orchestra, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the Juilliard School Orchestra, the Williamsport Symphony Orchestra, the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra, the Rishon Lezion Symphonic Orchestra, the Jerusalem Symphonic Orchestra, and the Raanana Symphony Orchestra, amongst others. Lee has performed at many leading venues and is co-founder and artistic director of Music by the Glass, a concert series dedicated to bringing together young professionals in New York City.
The program: Works by Debussy, Kim, Chopin, Bolcom, Hamelin and Stravinsky will be performed.
A special guest: In honor of Fresno philanthropist and music lover Anita Shanahan’s 102nd birthday. Robert Boro organized a group of friends to raise the money to sponsor the concert in Shanahan’s honor. He writes:
STORY CONTINUES AFTER SPONSORED CONTENT
Anita and Edward Shanahan moved from San Francisco to Fresno in 1955. Edward came for a position on the bench. He wanted to return to S.F. after a year, but they remained here and bought a house where Anita still resides in Old Fig. Edward died about 11 years ago. Together they supported many causes (they had no children and actually no living relatives in this country).
They were patrons of the Fresno Philharmonic (they donated the timpani and endowed a chair), and Anita served on the board for decades and shaped the financial stability as she gave and raised huge sums of money. She did the same for the Fresno Art Museum and even created their endowment with Clarence Harris. Anita mentored dozens of kids and families over the years (including me – for 66 years. The Shanahans were two of my parents’ closest friends, so I know them intimately.
The sponsorship: Because of the pandemic, Anita was cut off from her large circle of friends. Boro got the idea to honor her birthday — which was Aug. 11 — by getting together money in her name to sponsor a concert in the Keyboard series. “It occurred to me that I could rally her friends to sponsor a concert, which would lift her spirits and help the finances of my beloved keyboard series, which I have attended since 1974,” he says. He always drove Anita to the concerts.
Win tickets: Members of The Munro Review can enter to win a pair of tickets to the concert. Here’s the contest post. Deadline is 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 14.
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