Opening night for concert series is September 23

St. Hugh-Steinway Concert Series will open its 2016-17 Season on Friday, September 23 at 8 pm with the first orchestral concert ever presented at St. Hugh Catholic Church. Metropolitan Opera’s gifted French pianist and conductor, Pierre Vallet (left), will conduct Beethoven’s Symphony No. 4 and Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, featuring Basque pianist Roberto Berrocal (right).

Pierre is known for his superb musicianship as a conductor of opera, symphonic works, and as a concert pianist.

He is a long-serving member of the Metropolitan Opera, first as a pianist and coach and later joining the roster of staff conductors. He has enjoyed a long-term musical partnership with Seiji Ozawa, working closely together on some forty operatic productions and concerts throughout Japan, the US and Europe.

Artistic Director Roberto Berrocal grew up in Bilbao, Spain. In 1996 he entered Charleston College, South Carolina where he made his professional debut at 18, playing Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 2. He has studied with pianist Joaquín Soriano in Madrid and with John Moriarty at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. There he won the Blütner Foundation Piano Competition, and finished with Masters degrees in both Solo Piano and Vocal Accompanying.

Tickets at $45 and $30 are available online at www.sthughconcerts.org  or by phone at 305-318-5008.

St. Hugh-Steinway Concert Series is entering its fifth season of vocal and instrumental concerts, presenting four concerts each year of both classical and popular music. Each concert is followed by a free wine & cheese reception in the adjoining hall to meet the artists.

St. Hugh Catholic Church (3460 Royal Road) has a striking vertical interior with beautiful stained glass and excellent acoustics. Over the past four years, the intimate 500-seat church has become a successful concert venue.