By Margit Resch
Are you intrigued by those names? Sawoski and Patzakis?
Well wait until you hear those two internationally celebrated musicians on May 15, when they conclude the 37th season of music on Fripp Island, another wonderful season the highlight of which might very will be this concert from John Sawoski, a multi-genre pianist, and Michele Patzakis, a multi-genre vocal artist. Two performers who are meant for each other — musically speaking.
Sawoski, who plays a variety of keyboards, is an orchestrator, arranger, musical director and composer. He began composing for the piano at the age of 10. From then on, Sawoski’s musical accomplishments continue to be astounding.
As a sophomore at Stanford University, he wrote, arranged and conducted a musical called How to Become a Legend in Your Own Mind. Clearly, his professors and his audiences were impressed by his work, because he was commissioned to compose songs for Stanford University’s annual musical shows. He has since created, arranged and recorded music for films like Day of Atonement and for world-famous theatrical productions.
Who has played for three American presidents? Sawoski, needless to say. He also provided hundreds of orchestrations and arrangements for international celebrities like Placido Domingo, Jim Carrey, Michael Feinstein, Judy Whitmore, and others, many of whom he accompanied in concerts and recordings.
Recently, Sawoski conducted, arranged and produced two albums by new vocal artists featuring 60 musicians, and he released a solo-piano album called Cinema Amore: Movie Love Themes and Other Classics. His own compositions have been played by famous orchestras all over the country from California to Colorado to Philadelphia.
His style of playing is mesmerizing. Just listen to his rendition of Chopin’s Fantaisie Impromptu. You will be on your feet and applauding in your very own home. You will be on your feet and applauding during and after his performance here on Fripp, I bet you.
The adulation continues with Michele Patzakis’s résumé. She is not only a fabulous soprano, her operatic voice is at home in the highest and lowest registers and has been celebrated in concert halls and opera houses all over Europe and the U.S. She has been the leading soprano in more than 30 operatic productions at the Zurich Opera, the New York City Opera, the Spoleto Festival, the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, to name just a few.
Patzakis’ talents extend way beyond her voice. She is a director, educator, arts administrator, producer and teaching artist at the Los Angeles Opera. She received her Master Degree in vocal performance from the New England Conservatory, with distinction in performance, and she earned a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music.
Currently a professor of voice at the University of Southern California, Patzakis is loved by her students especially for her dedication to bring out the best in them, as singers and performers. She presents her work not only on world stages, but also at conferences and symposia such as the National Association of Teachers of Singing. And she is currently the Director of the San Francisco District of Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.
No doubt, Sawoski and Patzakis’ collaboration here on Fripp will leave all the audience breathless and full of admiration, too. They will mark the conclusion and be the highlight Fripp’s 37th concert series.
You can hear the duo at 5 p.m., Sunday, May 15 in the Fripp Island Community Centre, 205 Tarpon Blvd. Admission at the door is $30 for adults (credit cards accepted). Students are free thanks to the Peg Gorham Memorial Fund.
Attendees are invited to a meet-the-artist reception after the performance, catered by Harold’s Chef Services. This concert is presented by the Fripp Island Friends of Music and supported by the S.C. Arts Commission. It helps fund FIFOM’s Music-in-the-Schools program. Visit www.frippfriendsofmusic.com for more information, and call Vanessa Peñaherrera at 704-807-0255 for reservations.
