Joshua Russell

Joshua Russell will perform Justin Elie’s Tropical Fantasy as the guest soloist with the Muscatine Symphony Orchestra on Saturday, April 20 at 7:30p.m. in the Muscatine Center for the Performing Arts, 901 Cedar Street, Muscatine, IA.

Joshua Russell will perform the Haitian piano concerto, Fantaisie Tropicale, on the final concert of the Shades of Africa festival at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, on Saturday, April 6, 2013.

Joshua Russell will premiere his own transcription for solo piano and concert band of Justin Elie’s Haitian piano concerto, Tropical Fantasy, in Flint, MI on Sunday, February 3. The performance will be a part of a three day residency that Joshua will complete at Mott Community College that includes various masterclasses and performances.

Joshua Russell will perform a series of concerts across Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, and Minnesota with Trio Americana, a newly formed ensemble that also includes Jason Laczkoski (saxophone) and Anna Draper (Violin). The trio is dedicated to performing beautiful and exciting contemporary works that are rooted in American folklore and song. The trio’s current program features works that are based on Blues, Funk, Gospel, Bluegrass and American fiddle tunes. Check the Schedule Page of the Website to see the program locations.

Joshua Russell will be the guest soloist with the Clinton Symphony Orchestra in Sterling, IL on September 29 at 7:30p.m. and in DeWitt, IA on September 30 at 3:00p.m. Russell will perform the “Tropical Fantasy,” a piano concerto by Haitian composer Justin Elie.

Joshua Russell will perform at the Lasker Summer Music Festival in Lasker, North Carolina on Monday, July 16, and Tuesday July 17. The Tuesday evening gala concert will feature a program of works by American/Creole composer, Louis Moreau Gottschalk.

Joshua Russell will be on the faculty of the Five Seasons Chamber Music Camp in Cedar Rapids, IA from June 11-16 and will perform Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20 in D Minor on Saturday June 16, at 7:00p.m. at Washington H.S. in Cedar Rapids, IA.

In other news, Russell’s CD of Haitian piano music was recently featured on AfriClassical.com. View the video below for information his project to raise money to help rebuild Haiti’s primary music school.

Joshua Russell will be a guest on WorldCanvass, a program hosted by Joan Kjaer, and sponsored by the International Studies program at the University of Iowa.  The program is aired live on KRUI radio, and can be watched live online at the following link:  http://international.uiowa.edu/worldcanvass The program airs live on Friday, May 4, 2012 from 5:00p.m. – 7:00p.m.

I received word that the Tango from my CD of Haitian Piano Music was played on Iowa Public Radio.  Click Here for More Information or To Purchase the CD.

Thank you, again, to everyone who attended the recent performance of the Haitian Piano Concerto, Fantaisie Tropicale.

***UPDATED TIME OF EVENT*** On January 22, 2012, at 6:00 p.m., Joshua Russell will present a performance of Justin Elie’s Tropical Fantasy at United Presbyterian Church, in Peoria, IL.  It will be part of a program of Haitian music to raise money for the L’Ecole Sainte Trinite Summer Music Camp for Haitian Youth in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.  (To read more about the long lost Haitian piano concerto, click here)

Russell reconstructed and edited the parts to the Tropical Fantasy, and gave the first performance of the work outside of Haiti in 80 years.