UA 2007-2008 Celebrity Series Continues with Pianist Drew Mays

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Dr. Drew Mays performs cataract surgery by day and Beethoven’s Waldstein Sonata by night. He will perform Jan.12 at 7:30 p.m. in the Moody Concert Hall as part of The University of Alabama’s School of Music’s continuing Celebrity Series.

UA’s Celebrity Series brings performers from all over the world to the Tuscaloosa community.

Mays, an ophthalmologist in Vestavia Hills and director of the ophthalmology residency program at The University of Alabama School of Medicine, is also a world-renowned pianist who began his musical career in UA’s College of Arts and Sciences. Mays received a bachelor’s degree in music in 1982 and a master’s degree in music in 1987.

Amanda Penick, professor of music in the College of Arts and Sciences’ School of Music at The University of Alabama, said of the thousands of students she has taught in her 54 years at the University, Mays is one of the best. Penick is the University’s longest serving faculty member.

“He has the perfect combination of mental, physical and aural abilities,” Penick said. “Not only is he a wonderful pianist, he’s a wonderful person and that is shared in his music. He really loves the music, and you can hear that when he plays.”

Mays went on to study at the Conservatory of Music in Hanover, Germany and at the Manhattan School of Music. Mays then decided to switch gears and attend The University of Alabama at Birmingham’s School of Medicine. After a 15-year hiatus, Mays began practicing the piano again in 2002. He won second place at the Rocky Mountain Amateur Piano Competition in 2006, and his passion for public performance was re-ignited.

Mays has been successful in several competitions. In June, he placed first in the Van Cliburn Foundation’s 2007 Fifth International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs, beating out 75 other competitors from 22 states and six foreign countries. He also took the Audience Award and Best Performance of a Romantic Work Award at the Van Cliburn competition. In 2006, Mays received second place in the Amateur Pianists International Competition.

Mays’ talent also is evident in his family. His wife, Therese, is a Birmingham internist who studied flute with William Hebert of the Cleveland Orchestra. Their four children also are talented musically.

The Celebrity Series is sponsored by the Gloria Narramore Moody Foundation, which has brought world-renowned artists to Tuscaloosa since 1988. The Moody Foundation was founded in 1990 by Gloria Moody and her husband, the late Tuscaloosa businessman Frank McCorkle Moody, to support the arts and music. The Moody Foundation also has endowed scholarships at UA and has supported arts organizations elsewhere in the United States.

All performances in UA’s Celebrity Series are held in the Concert Hall of the Moody Music Building on the UA campus at 7:30 p.m. Season tickets are $72 for the general public and $55 for students. Single ticket prices are $15 for the general public and $7 for students. For more information, call the School of Music box office at 205/348-7111.

Additional performances scheduled for the spring semester are as follows:

Indra Thomas—Friday, Feb. 15, 7:30 p.m.

Soprano Indra Thomas has performed in many of the world’s major international opera houses. Of her performance as Imogene in Bellini’s “Il Pirata” at the Caramoor Festival, The New York Times wrote, “The mad scene was a triumph …the audience awarded her a tremendous ovation.” But Thomas’ rave reviews began long before, as a teen, when she sang “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” during the funeral scene of the critically acclaimed film, “Driving Miss Daisy.”

Her forthcoming performances include debuts at the Hamburgische Staatsoper and the New National Theatre in Tokyo in “Un Ballo in Maschera;” at the Gewandhaus Orchestra in the “Porgy and Bess Suite;” and at the Théâtre de Champs Élysées in “Poeme de l’amour et de la mer.” Among Thomas’ career highlights are Aida in “Aida” at the Chorégies and Liu in “Turandot” at the Metropolitan Opera. Tippett’s “A Child of Our Time” served as her first appearance with the Boston Symphony and she also debuted with the New York Philharmonic in the “Porgy and Bess Suite.”

Frank Moody Memorial Concert with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra featuring violinist Itzhak Perlman —Saturday, April 12, 7:30 p.m.

The Frank Moody Memorial Concert features the reigning virtuoso of the violin, Itzhak Perlman, in concert with The Alabama Symphony Orchestra. Beloved for his charm and humanity as well as his talent, Perlman has come to be recognized by audiences all over the world who respond not only to his flawless technique, but to his irrepressible joy of making music. Born in Israel in 1945, Perlman completed his initial training at the Academy of Music in Tel Aviv. He came to New York and soon was propelled into the international arena with an appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show” in 1958. Following his studies at the Juilliard School, Perlman won the prestigious Leventritt Competition in 1964, which led to a burgeoning world-wide career.

Perlman has been honored with four Emmy Awards, 15 Grammy Awards and his recordings regularly appear on the best-seller charts. Harvard, Yale, Brandeis, Roosevelt, Yeshiva and Hebrew universities are among the institutions that have awarded him honorary degrees. President Reagan honored Perlman with a Medal of Liberty in 1986. In 2000, President Clinton awarded Perlman the National Medal of Arts.

On television, Perlman has entertained and enlightened millions of viewers of all ages on shows as diverse as “The Late Show with David Letterman,” “Sesame Street,” and “The Tonight Show.” One of his proudest achievements was his collaboration with film score composer John Williams in Steven Spielberg’s Academy Award winning film “Schindler’s List” in which he performed the violin solos. His stage presence speaks eloquently on behalf of the disabled and his devotion to their cause is an integral part of his life.

UA’s School of Music is part of the College of Arts and Sciences, the University’s largest division and the largest liberal arts college in the state. Students from the College have won numerous national awards including Rhodes Scholarships, Goldwater Scholarships and memberships on the “USA Today” Academic All American Teams.