Vail Valley Foundation to host global livestream show featuring Joshua Bell, Larisa Martinez, Peter Dugan

The Vail Valley Foundation on Wednesday issued the following press release on a special Aug. 14 global livestream concert from Vail featuring Joshua Bell, Larisa Martinez, and Peter Dugan:

Classical music will have a special kind of awakening Aug. 14, 2020, as world-renowned violinist Joshua Bell, soprano Larisa Martínez, and pianist Peter Dugan will perform in perhaps the most seminal event in the genre since the onset of the global COVID-19 pandemic.

This will not only be the first in-person performance by Bell and Martínez since the COVID-19 shutdown, but also the live premiere of their new work from which the program draws its name, “Voice and the Violin.”

The show will be presented to a live audience, and also streamed globally online through Veeps. The event will be presented by the Vilar Performing Arts Center in Beaver Creek from the stage at the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater in Vail, Colorado, to a limited audience of 350 people. For in-person tickets, visit grfavail.com, and to learn more about ticket for the livestream, visit veeps.com. A portion of proceeds from the livestream will be donated to address mental and behavioral health initiatives.

Bell is one of the top names in the world of the violin and Martínez is an acclaimed soprano – they are also husband and wife. The show will, no doubt, find influence from Bell’s 2006 Sony Classical CD “Voice of the Violin.” That acclaimed recording offered transcriptions for violin and orchestra, as well as violin and piano, of beloved songs, arias, and more. 

Dvořák certainly intended that a soprano should perform the “Song to the Moon” from his opera Rusalka, though Bell proved that it works just as well on violin.  Besides, it has long been considered high praise to remark upon a violinist’s singing tone, that in the right hands, the instrument may be the next best thing to having a singer.  So why not allow that player to take on music that would normally be sung?  Even more compelling, have a singer involved in the performance, too, so one can reflect upon how a voice and a violin give different colors and flavors to song-like melodic lines. Both sing: they just do it in their own way.

The Ford Amphitheater program on Friday, August 14, will take these ideas to new heights, and be much more than a recreation of that “Voice of the Violin” CD: it has been an idea at the back of Bell’s mind for quite some years. 

Moreover, in days of social distancing, there’s much to be said for having a recital partner who is one’s own spouse, thus simplifying practice and increasing the variety of repertoire that one can bring to the public.  Pianist Peter Dugan bring his own talents to the stage to join the husband-wife duo with such exceptional ability that one might call the program “Voice and Violin and Piano,” as that’s exactly what the audience will hear.

In-person performance in a unique time and place

Although presented by the Vilar Performing Arts Center, an indoor venue in Beaver Creek, Colorado, the event will take place in its outdoor, sister venue in nearby Vail: The Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater.

The Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater is one of the Rocky Mountain’s most beautiful locales, having welcomed top classical, rock, comedy, and other artists for more than 30 years. This performance will welcome 350 audience members, far below their usual 2,600-capacity, in order that guests may properly social distance. The venue will be operating within public health guidelines, and will require face coverings in “common areas”, provide additional cleaning and security, among many other protective measures. For more, visit grfavail.com/covid19-policy.
 

Tickets are $200 for pavilion seating and $50 for lawn seating and are expected to sell quickly when they go on sale Thursday, July 16 at 11 a.m. MST. To purchase, or learn more, visit grfavail.com.

To take part virtually from virtually anywhere, join the sensational global impact of the event by purchasing a live stream code for $20 at veeps.com. The $20 pass will allow two weeks of access to the performance. The Vilar Performing Arts Center will donate half of its proceeds to nonprofits working to support mental and behavioral health.

–Betsy Schwarm contributed to the writing of this release