Richard Herriott&Daisuke Takeya Extempor

Les Amis Concerts presents Richard Herriott & Daisuke Takeya 'Extempore' Sunday, June 24 at 7:00 PM The LOFT

Concert Pianist Prepares for Cobourg “Homecoming" On Sunday, June 24th at 7 PM, two great artists will take the stage at The LOFT Cinema in Cobourg combining inspiration and improvisation as they perform "Extempore.". As part of the Les AMIS Concert series, pianist/composer Richard Herriott returns for a third Cobourg performance. Herriott will improvise on a Scott Joplin piano rag, performed on a vintage player-piano. To add to the magic of the evening, world-renowned visual artist Daisuke Takeya will interpret Herriott’s piano musings in his own inimitable way, bringing the audible to life on a large canvas. His paintings will reflect Herriott’s keyboard inventions. Richard Herriott is a veteran of the concert stage, who, following his debut with The Toronto Symphony at the age of 18, has played in 14 countries around the world. When asked about his return to Cobourg, Herriott said, “Playing in Cobourg is now for me like a homecoming. I absolutely adore this most beautiful town and feel at one with the people for whom I play here.” The presentation will focus on Herriott’s highly developed piano improvisational skills. He explains, “I will hear a Scott Joplin rag on the player-piano. I have no idea which one. I will sit and listen and then create a Rhapsody of sorts.“ Herriott went on to say, “Improvisation is the most important of basic skills for any kind of performing artist. It requires, for a musician, to have a complete command of keyboard harmony and have a huge awareness in a most detailed way of truly great music.“ Daisuke Takeya is a Toronto-Tokyo based interdisciplinary artist, sometimes curator, collector, art educator, and community advocator who explores the nature of contemporary society, with all of its paradox. He has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions in Toronto, New York, and Japan to critical acclaim. Following the live performance by Herriott and Takeya, there will be a showing of five Academy Award-winning film The Sting, starring Robert Redford, Paul Newman, and Robert Shaw. It will be an evening that sees the marriage of music, visual art, and a brain-twisting film.

Sunday, June 24 at 7 p.m. at THE LOFT, 201 Division St., Cobourg. Tickets $20 + sc at Victoria Hall on-line or (905) 372-2210.