Friday, December 28, 2018 – 7pm
Riverhouse Concerts
5258 N. Front St
Harrisburg, PA 17110
The Riverhouse, the site of this concert series, was built in 2014 and is the artistic creation of Gary Lysaght, who designed and built the house with the aid of just a handful of workers. The imposing facade harmonizes with the adjacent buildings of historic Fort Hunter Park. Step inside, and you enter a modernistic world of soaring heights, with the broad Susquehanna River providing an ever-changing vista through the structure’s western wall, entirely of glass. Attracted by the unique beauty of the Riverhouse and its excellent acoustics, violinist Odin Rathnam has chosen the site for a series of intimate concerts. Odin and Gary welcome you and hope you enjoy these special evenings where music, nature, wine and good food will come together with people in a truly unique musical and sensory experience.
“When Gary first gave me a tour of the residence, I was immediately struck by the open, light feel of the space, the way Nature is drawn in through the floor to ceiling windows overlooking the River, Rockville Bridge and mountains, and the perfect acoustics that the vaulted space and maple floors help to provide”, Rathnam notes.” I am humbled and fortunate to have been afforded this opportunity to partner with Gary in bringing something new and beautiful to the community that has been such a huge support and factor in my own career and artistic development for 26 years. We aim to create a series of concerts based on the convergence of sight, sound, taste and the ambiance of this gem of a venue and share that with 60 to 70 guests, four or five times a year. As Artistic Director, I look forward to bringing many exceptional colleagues and friends together, as we explore and present great works from the chamber music repertoire, pieces off the beaten track, and diverse styles and disciplines. There will be surprises, all given in the spirit of Art and Love.”
STEVE RUDOLPH
Jazz Pianist – Composer – Educator – Yamaha Keyboard Artist
Steve Rudolph has had an inspiring career in his 50 years of professional music making. Jazz Improv magazine states, “Rudolph is a savvy, swinging, glimmering heavyweight… …simply outstanding.” The winner of the Jazziz Magazine Piano Competition at the Seven Springs Jazz Festival in 2000, he was also awarded two Jazz Composition Fellowships from the PA Council on the Arts. With eleven acclaimed CDs as a leader, he has served as producer, arranger and performer on many recordings including CDs with Johnny Coles, Bill Goodwin, Ali Ryerson, Matt Wilson and Vinny Valentino. His vast experience encompasses concert performances with many jazz masters including Louie Bellson, Clark Terry, Terry Gibbs, Rufus Reid, Buddy Tate, Al Grey, the Mills Brothers, and Cal Collins. He has toured throughout the U.S., India, Europe, Canada, Russia and the Caribbean. Steve is currently a Yamaha Keyboard Artist and is in demand as a clinician and performer.
Born in Evansville and raised near Boonville, Indiana, Steve studied trumpet and composition under scholarship at Butler University in Indianapolis. He switched his main instrumental focus to the piano at age 22 and was hired by Buddy Morrow to perform with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra in 1977. Since moving to Harrisburg in 1978, he has been largely responsible for the growth and development of the thriving jazz scene in Central PA. His devotion to the art of jazz inspired him to found the Central PA Friends of Jazz, now in its 36th successful year of monthly concerts, youth band, jazz camp, and annual Central PA Jazz Festival. Since 2012 he has served as the Executive Director of CPFJ. Steve was the recipient of the 2002 Harrisburg Arts Award for dedication to the arts and community service. His detailed recording and touring information may be found at www.steverudolph.com.
Jonathan Ragonese
Composer-arranger-saxophonist, is a native of New Cumberland, Pennsylvania. He moved to New York City in 2007 to attend the Manhattan School of Music, he has lived and worked there since. As a saxophonist he has performed and recorded with a wide array of musicians including Steve Wilson, David Liebman, the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra, Tim Warfield, Tin Can Buddha and Steve Rudolph.As a composer his works have been commissioned and premiered by The New York Film Festival, saxophonist Steve Wilson, Jazz @ Lincoln Center, The Museum of Modern Art, the Vermont Mozart Festival Orchestra, the Harrisburg Symphony, and the The Righteous Girls, Bucknell University, West Chester University and the Harrisburg Youth Symphony. Pandora’s Box, a new film score for G.W. Pabst’s iconic film, was commissioned by the Film Society of Lincoln Center and premiered at Alice Tully Hall in October of 2017, with Jonathan conducting a 17-piece ensemble. In 2014 Ragonese premiered his ‘Not-this’ for two saxophones, at Carnegie Hall. Jonathan is an active educator, with lectures, writings, and the development of Music Before Words, a music program for infants with educator Renee Bock. His first recording, Ardent Marigolds, was released in 2013, a duo with musical father Steve Rudolph. two men, singing, a duo album with saxophonist Tim Warfield was released the summer of 2018.