Benaroya Hall

Benaroya Hall houses two performance halls in a complex that is thoroughly integrated into downtown Seattle. Occupying an entire city block at the very core of the city, the development celebrates the vital role of performance events while maintaining the continuity of commercial life along one avenue and providing a much-needed public space, in the form of a terraced garden, along another.

The beautiful Samuel and Althea Stroum Grand Lobby in Benaroya Hall has views of Elliott Bay and the Seattle city skyline. Photo by Lara Swimmer

 

Visit  www.seattlesymphony.org 

 

 

 

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Artist Biographies

• Andre Feriante

• Eric Fridrich

• Overton Berry

• Swil Kanim

• Clipper Anderson

• Charlie Solbrig

 

  

 

Andre Feriante (The Poet of the Guitar)

 

After over 20 years of performing and recording, award-winning virtuoso guitarist Andre Feriante has left his musical mark on the classical, world music and fusion scenes.

 

 

 

 

His classical pedigree is impeccable, having trained with Colombian concert guitarist Henry Rivas, renowned New York guitarist Leon Atkinson, and Jose Tomas, assistant to the legendary Andres Segovia, but his creative performance style, which draws on his gift for improvisation and broad understanding of many musical and cultural traditions, has made a substantial impact on audiences of all kinds.

 

 

A cross-over artist in the vein of YoYo Ma or Sting, his performance program represents a bold but fluid musical fusion, featuring music from Bach to Leonard Cohen, flamenco improvisation to jazz standards, and even poetry by Federico Garcia Lorca, Rumi, and Feriante himself.

 

 

Internationally acclaimed, he’s performed at an Andres Segovia Master Class in Madrid, at Javeriana University in Bogota, Colombia, and for the Jose Carreras Leukemia Foundation at Carnegie Hall in New York City.  

 

 

Now based in Seattle, he’s established himself as a local favorite. He gives a much anticipated annual performance at Benaroya Hall and has played in a wide variety of venues including The King Cat Theatre (where he opened for Olita Adams and David Benoit), The Frye Art Museum, The Paramount Theater, and the Key Arena, where he performed the National Anthem for the Seattle Sonics.  

 

 

Festival appearances include the Maui Music Festival, the Seattle Folklife Festival, Seattle Hempfest and Bumbershoot. He makes regular appearances on Seattle radio and television and was featured on the Classical King FM Compilation Natural Symphony CD, as well as on the Tigerbreath label with Ottmar Liebert, Craig Chaquico and others.

 

 

He’s released seven albums that have consistently charted within the top 10, and his latest, “Bohemian Boulevard,” debuted at No. 1 on the world and ambient radio charts. It remained in the top 20 for 5 months and then went on to win “Best World Album” in the New Age Reporter’s 2006 Lifestyle Awards.

 

 

A seasoned, expressive performer whose style is as elegant as it is conversational, Feriante's innovative and effortless style appeals to any ear with a love and passion for music. He has dedicated his life to his art, and his ability to communicate through sound never fails to lead his audience on an emotional journey that is as deeply personal as it is universal.

 

Visit  www.andreferiante.com

 

 

 

 

 

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Eric Fridrich brings a sense of versatility and awareness to his singer/songrwriter roots. With touches of rock, jazz, folk, blues and Latin, Eric Fridrich delivers a sound rich in pop hooks, jazz tags and blues turnarounds. This Chicago native adds the spices and influences of such artists as Sting, Neil Young, Sinatra, B.B King, James Brown, James Taylor, Santana and Stevie Wonder just to name a few.

 

The variations of styles, influences and improvisation allow Eric to pulse across genres and sounds freely while still tying them neatly together in to his music. The end result is a dynamic and musical journey that pays respect and homage to harmony, melody and rhythm. How ever you try to define it, the sound is constantly reinvented off these genres of the past being blended together with a touch of today. Simply put, the complex and varied sound of Eric Fridrich can easily be described as "Pop hooks, Jazz tags and Blues Turnarounds".

 

 

 

 

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Overton Berry began his musical career over fifty years ago at the age of 16 when he played USO shows at military bases on the west coast with the first Overton Berry Trio. Since those early beginnings the music has never stopped. He is described in the Pacific Northwest as “a living legend”, and his wealth of experience and generations of fans bear witness to this affectionate accolade.

 

 

His credits include Music Director for the Peggy Lee Concert at the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair; Music Director for the House of Entertainment during the Seattle World’s Fair; Music Director for the Canadian tour La Hora de Jazz Concerts; Music Director of the Gene Stridel Show, Hollywood Overseas Committee - Viet Nam; and Music Director of the Overton Berry Trio and the TOBE School of Music. He has played extensively in venues around the world including Sans Souci in Tokyo, the Marriott in Cairo, the Peninsula Hotel in Bangkok, the China Hotel in Guangzhou, China and the Sheraton Hotel in Hong Kong.

 

 

Visit  www.overtonberry.com

 

 

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Swil Kanim has been featured on KIRO TV NEWS, National Public Radio’s Earth on the Air, Northwest Public Radio, NW Cable News Network and the Canadian Chum Network’s New Canoe. In addition to working on 24 episodes of CBS's Northern Exposure, his music and acting ability were highlighted by starring in Sherman Alexie’s critically acclaimed The Business of FancyDancing.

 

 

He was selected to perform as part of the Bellingham’s Sister City Program in Teteyama, Japan where he continued on to Seoul, Korea for a memorial/reunion concert for orphans of the Korean Conflict. The Indigo Girls asked Swil Kanim to be their opening act in Seattle to kick off the Honor the Earth Concert tour of North America. Swil Kanim also performed for five years with the Growth and Prevention Theater Company (GAP Theater), based out of Seattle. The GAP Theater Company presented professional plays about racism and varying forms of bigotry for institutions across the Great Northwest. He has done school assemblies for elementary and secondary education in Washington State, British Columbia, Canada, and in Sitka Alaska. He has performed for the staff and participants of Re-habilitation Centers, Burn Survivors Camp, Youth Leadership Forums across the state of Washington. At the American Indian Film Awards in San Francisco, Swil Kanim has performed for the past 4 years, he was featured on the soundtrack of a documentary about Indian Boarding Schools, which won the Best Documentary award. Swil Kanim has received the Certificate of Virtuosity from the Whatcom Chapter of the Washington State Music Teachers Association, the Bellingham Municipal Arts Award for Promoting Self-Expression in Community, and Woodring College of Education Professional Excellence Award. In February of 2004 he perfomed with Andre Feriante and Paulo Cesar at Benaroya Recital Hall in Seattle, WA and in 2006 with Famed Pianist David Lanz He continues to take his music and message wherever the road takes him hoping to inspire kids and adults alike to find their "violin"!

 

 

 

Visit  www.swilkanim.net

 

 

 

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Clipper Anderson is one of the most popular bassists in the Northwest. He was described by Seattle's "Earshot" jazz magazine as "a player for the connoisseur to savor." A native of Polson, Montana, Clipper played both french horn and bass in high school. He graduated from the University of Montana, having studied bass with Frank Diliberto. After a professional stint in the Spokane area, he moved to Seattle. Mr. Anderson has toured and played with a number of internationally-known jazz artists, including Randy and Michael Brecker, Toots Thielmanns, Herb Ellis, Bob Mintzer, Diane Schurr, Freddie Hubbard, James Williams, and many others. As a seasoned educator, Clipper has taught privately at Spokane Falls Community College, Eastern Washington University in Cheney, and numerous clinics and festivals at schools and colleges. For the past nine years, Anderson has been involved in various groups participating in a program called "Music For Youth."

 

 

 

Visit  www.bogeyjazz.com/musicians.htm

 

 

 

 

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Charlie Solbrig  A classical and pop artist as well as a multi-instrumentalist, Charlie Solbrig is known in Seattle as a classical guitarist and lead singer for the band Tilted Blue. He’s also a very talented painter but over the years, music has become his main focus.  He holds Bachelor of Music from Idaho State University. Andre Feriante and Solbrig have recently formed a musical duo and will introduce some of their original compositions at the Feb. 15th Valentine performance.

 

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