Michael Stephen Brown, left, and Nicholas Canellakis. Photo by Sophie Zhai
On Friday, May 10, at 7:30 p.m., cellist Nicholas Canellakis and pianist and composer Michael Stephen Brown will perform at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Asheville as part of the Asheville Chamber Music Series (ACMS). Both musicians are longtime artists with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and have performed together more than 15 years.
The program will include original music by the artists, the Rachmaninoff Sonata for cello and piano, and works by Clara Schumann, Debussy, Paganini and Saint-Saens. Canellakis and Brown have performed all over the world individually and together, and recently released a duo album (b)romance.
A 2018 Emerging Artist of Lincoln Center and a recipient of the Avery Fisher Career Grant, Brown has performed for the ACMS twice, the first a virtual concert during COVID restrictions in 2020, in which he performed a solo recital from his small apartment in New York City. “Michael immediately endeared himself to the Asheville audience with his amazing virtuosity as well as his humorous anecdotes,” says Polly Feitzinger, ACMS programming chair. In 2022, he was invited once again, this time with the Rolston String Quartet. “Those of us who got to know Michael during his stay realized that not only is he an amazing musician but his engaging personality radiates as well during his performance,” Feitzinger says.
A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and New England Conservatory, Canellakis made his Carnegie Hall debut as a soloist with the American Symphony Orchestra. He tours internationally, performs as a guest artist at many of the world’s leading music festivals and is an accomplished filmmaker as well. He and Brown have produced and starred in a comedy web series titled Conversations with Nick Canellakis, in which they conduct satirical interviews with well-known classical musicians.
The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Asheville is located at 1 Edwin Place. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit AshevilleChamberMusic.org, call 828.575.7427 or email support@ashevillechambermusic.org.
