Photos courtesy of Dearborn Symphony Orchestra
Dearborn Symphony Orchestra Pops Director and pianist Rich Ridenour (above) will be joined by his son, special guest trumpeter Brandon Ridenour (below) of Canada Brass at 8 p.m. Friday at the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center, 15804 Michigan Ave. in Dearborn. Tickets ranging from $15 to $30 are available by phoning the symphony office at 313-565-2424 or the theater box office at 313-943-2354. Go to dearbornsymphony.org for more information.
Dearborn Symphony Orchestra Pops Director and pianist Rich Ridenour returns for the symphony’s annual Pops Concert at 8 p.m. Friday at the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center, 15801 Michigan Ave. in Dearborn.
Tickets ranging from $15 to $30 are available by phoning the symphony office at 313-565-2424 or the theater box office at 313-943-2354. Go to dearbornsymphony.org for more information.
Joining Rich is a special guest trumpeter, his son Brandon, a six-year veteran of the famed Canadian Brass. Together with the Dearborn Symphony, they will perform a program entitled “Trumpet Invasion!” Yes, the trumpet will invade the repertoire of the piano, violin, clarinet and more. This father and son team has been performing all over the United States to rave reviews for their comedic routines and brilliant technique.
Their arrangements include such pieces as “Linus and Lucy,” “Carnival of Venice,” Bernstein’s “America,” Paul McCartney’s “Eleanor Rigby,” and even a “Rhapsody in Blue” like you’ve never heard before.
“Ridenour is a dazzling pianist as well as an amusing showman,” wrote the Lafayette Journal “An act that’s as masterfully musical as it is wickedly funny … a Victor Borge waiting in the wings,” wrote the Grand Rapids Press
Rich Ridenour has built a formidable career arranging and performing music of great piano favorites ranging from classical masterworks to American ragtime, jazz and rock ’n’ roll. A consummate entertainer with degrees from the University of Michigan and Juilliard, Ridenour blends classical, jazz, pop and comedy into an evening enjoyable for all ages. A talented pianist, Ridenour covered for Peter Nero with two hours’ notice to perform “Rhapsody in Blue” with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra at Orchestra Hall in 2005. He has accompanied artists such as Carol Lawrence, Robert Guillaume, Smokey Robinson, Larry Gatlin, and Martin Short.
In 2006, at the age of 20, Brandon Ridenour became the youngest member to ever join the prestigious Canadian Brass and won the International Trumpet Guild solo competition playing his own composition, “Sonata for Trumpet and Piano.” An extremely prolific composer and arranger with numerous arrangements and compositions, he is featured by Canadian Brass on recordings and in concert. He has performed as soloist with the LA Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra, Aspen Festival Orchestra, New Juilliard Ensemble, among others and he has performed with legendary artists such as Sting, James Taylor and Marvin Hamlisch.
The Dearborn Symphony has partnered with local restaurants for “Dinner and a Concert.” The restaurants — Joe Vicari’s Andiamo Italian Steakhouse, Big Fish, Kiernan’s Steak House and Silky’s, LaPita, The Dearborn Inn and Tria at The Henry — offer a 20 percent discount to symphony ticket-holders on concert nights.
Advance reservations are recommended.