The Beaches Fine Arts Series will present award-winning pianist Llewellyn Sánchez-Werner in a free concert at 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 22, at St. Paul’s by-the-Sea Episcopal Church, Jacksonville Beach.
Doors open at 6:45 p.m. and seating is first come, first served. A reception follows with photographic art exhibit by Mary Atwood.
Llewellyn Sánchez-Werner
Sánchez-Werner was selected as a winner of the 2022 Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh Competition and has been distinguished as Gilmore Young Artist, an honor awarded to the most promising American pianists of the new generation. Sánchez-Werner is 25 years old.
His multifaceted artistry has been featured on NPR, PBS, CNN International, the Wall Street Journal and WDR-Arte.
His recent international performances include The Royal Concertgebouw in the Netherlands, CultureSummit Abu Dhabi, the Louvre and Grenoble Museums in France, Smetana Hall in the Czech Republic, State Philharmonic Hall in Slovakia, the Verbier Festival in Switzerland, Ashford Castle in Ireland, Gijon International Piano Festival in Spain, and the Jack Singer Concert Hall, Musée des Beaux- Arts de Montreal, and Banff Arts Festival in Canada.
In the United States, he has frequently performed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Lincoln Center, and National Sawdust in New York, the Mary B. Galvin Hall in Chicago, Richardson Auditorium at Princeton University, Paramount Theater in Oakland, and the Kennedy Center, the Smithsonian Art Museum and Warner Theatre in Washington, D.C.
He performed at the Kennedy Center and the White House for presidents Obama and Biden, for President Peña Nieto of Mexico, Prime Minister Peres of Israel and President Kagame of Rwanda.
He received the Atlantic Council Young Global Citizen Award recognizing his dedication to social action through music in such countries as Iraq, Rwanda, France, Canada and the United States.
On UN World Day for Cultural Diversity, Sánchez-Werner played with the Iraqi National Symphony in Baghdad, raising funds for the Children’s Cancer Hospital, and in Rwanda, he performed for economic leaders and President Kagame as Rwandans continue rebuilding from the Tutsi genocide.
In Paris, he performed at the U.S. embassy for a special event honoring the visit of the U.S. State Department’s Special Envoy to Muslim Communities, Shaarik Zafar.
Sánchez-Werner was artist-in-residence at the Canandaigua Lake Music Festival, Discovery Artist of the New West Symphony, and served as music director for a production of Aida at City College Arts Academy in New York. He partnered with the Gershwin family on a concert and biographical tribute to the Gershwin brothers and performed “Hallelujah Junction” for John Adams at his 70th birthday celebration in New York.
For a Hilan Warshaw WDR-Arte documentary titled “Wagner’s Jews,” which explores the controversy of performing Wagner in Israel and has been aired around the world, Sánchez-Werner recorded works of Liszt, Wagner and Tausig.
A California native, Sánchez-Werner began his first college degree at age 5, and at age 6 began performing regularly with orchestras. He holds bachelor and master of music degrees from Juilliard, where he was awarded the Kovner Fellowship, won the concerto competition and was the youngest admittee to each program, at ages 14 and 18, respectively. He received an artist diploma from the Yale School of Music, where he was awarded the Charles S. Miller Prize.
Mary Atwood
Fine art photographer and published author Mary Atwood is a long-time resident of the First Coast area, having a deep appreciation of its natural beauty, rich history and diverse culture is often reflected in her work.
Atwood’s photography is included in numerous public, private and corporate collections in the United States and France. PNC Bank has acquired more than 20 of her images for their corporate collection.
Atwood’s photographs have been exhibited in galleries, museums and public art venues, with more than 25 solo exhibitions. To date, her works have won more than 50 awards in local, regional and national juried exhibitions.
She was the recipient of the prestigious Art Ventures grant in 2011, and has done commissioned work for MOCA Jacksonville.
Most notably, she was selected by the Sister Cities organization of Nantes, France, to exhibit her “First Coast Reflections” project as part of the inaugural celebration for “la Maison des Etates-Unis” (the American House) during the summer of 2013.
Her quest to capture the intimate side of North Florida’s history led to the publication of her book, “Historic Homes of Florida’s First Coast” by The History Press of Charleston, South Carolina.
“Historic Homes of Florida’s First Coast” was awarded first prize for adult non-fiction by the Florida State Chapter of the National League of American Pen Women.
For further information on this event, call 904-270-1771 or go to beachesfinearts.org
Barb Wenger is the Signature Concert Sponsor.
