Reif Performing Arts Center
‘Master pianist’ Dan Franklin Smith to play at the Reif
Dan Franklin Smith, presented in recital at the Reif Performing Arts Center, has been described as “an incredibly sensitive player” and “a master pianist.”
Accolades such as “breathtakingly beautiful,” “technical wizardry,” and “brilliant technique and emotional fervor” appear in every review.
Smith enjoys national and international recognition as an important recitalist. He is often invited to return once, twice, or as many as half a dozen times to venues where he performs. His audiences do not forget him or the “amazing artistic moment” they have experienced in his work.
In a special performance the day after his recital, Smith will play an original piano composition at the Reif. Entitled “Suite for Piano,” it was written by Grand Rapids High School student David Johnson. Johnson was given the National Federation of Music Clubs Junior Composers Laura K. Wilson award in May of 2006, and has played the piano for nine years.
A New York City resident, Franklin Smith graduated as a piano major from the attended the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. He made his European debut in 1997 in a solo recital just outside of Stockholm, Sweden where he received a standing ovation and rave reviews.
The following year he made his European orchestral debut, and was later featured on Swedish television’s classical music program, “Musikspegeln.” A debut CD soon followed, which was broadcast on radio stations throughout Sweden and the United States.
Franklin Smith has appeared as a soloist, chamber musician and vocal accompanist at such venues across the United States as the National Gallery in Washington, D.C., the Cleveland Museum’s Distinguished Artist Series, and Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center in New York City.
See Franklin Smith at the Reif Center on Tuesday, Jan. 23 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets may be purchased at Reed Drug or the Reif Center Box Office, by calling 218-327-5780 or visiting www.reifcenter.org. This performance is being underwritten by the Sawmill Inn and Country Inn.
—Herald-Review, Grand Rapids, Michigan, January 15, 2007