Adventurous Pianist Jade Simmons brings "Black Beethoven" to DC May 1st

WASHINGTON - April 22, 2015 - PRLog -- Concert pianist Jade Simmons will bring an intimate version of her yet to be revealed one-woman show -Romejii (Ro-MEE-jee) to THEARC (Town Hall Education Arts & Recreation Campus) on Friday, May 1st, 2015 at 7pm as a part of her long-term residency with Levine Music's Southeast DC Campus. True to her habit of presenting concert adventures, The -Romejii Sessions is a unique music and storytelling experience that spans Rachmaninoff to Rap tied together with engaging, powerful and often hilarious stories about Jade's life and career as an anomoly in her field. It's a riveting story of creative identity breakthrough with musical performances that piece together her evolution into "Classical Music's No. 1 Maverick", a moniker given to her by music journalist & Juilliard professor Greg Sandow.

Highlights of the show include Classical warhorses like Chopin's Fantaisie-Impromptu and pieces by Bach, Beethoven and Rachmaninoff as well as original music by Simmons for piano and electronics, improvisations alongside recorded African drumming and the instant audience favorite, "Black Beethoven", a rap written by Jade that she performs while playing the piano and creating live electronic beats on stage.

What: Jade Simmons Concert, The -Romejii Sessions

When: Friday, May 1st, 2015 7pm

Where: Levine Music/THEARC (Town Hall Education Arts & Recreation Campus) 1901 Mississippi Avenue, SE, Suite 201
Washington, DC

Price: FREE but must RSVP here: http://www.levinemusic.org/calendar/event/848

About Jade: How do you get to be named "Classical Music's No.1 Maverick" ? By repeatedly defying expectations, delivering riveting performances and combining passion and innovation at every turn. Called a "musical force of nature", Jade Simmons is easily one of the most exciting and versatile artists on the scene today. Her new book, Audacious Prayers for World Changers, has already become a #1 Amazon Best-Seller ahead of it's release on May 8th. For her work on and away from the stage, Essence magazine featured Jade alongside First Lady Michelle Obama and Olympic gold medalist Gabby Douglas as a part of their first ever Style & Substance List. Additionally, she has been recognized two years in a row by Symphony Magazine, listed as one of Ebony magazine’s Top 30 Leaders under 30 (2008) and named Houston’s Best Arts Ambassador by the Houston Press. In the Spring of 2014, she made waves as one of the rare classical artists invited to perform at the taste making South by Southwest Festival where her show was ultimately branded one of the "Best of SXSW 2014".  For the highly anticipated documentaryabout the legendary musician and activist Nina Simone which made its premiere at Sundance, Jade was called on to provide selections by Chopin, Debussy and Bach for the footage highlighting Simone's early Classical beginnings. Jade's committment to expanding the boundaries of Classical music and its presentation began as the inaugural New Music/New Places Fellow for the prestigious Concert Artist Guild organization. Her performances have taken her to prestigious venues such as Ravinia, New York's Town Hall and including both The White House and the US Supreme Court. Today, she offers an incredibly diverse mix of repertoire from the Classics to the cutting edge and audiences have come to expect creative projects backed by riveting performances.Visit http://jademedia.org/ to learn more.

About Levine Music: Levine Music, the Washington DC region’s preeminent center for music education, is a welcoming community where children and adults find lifelong inspiration and joy through learning, performing, listening to, and participating with others in music.

Levine’s core values, excellence and opportunity, infuse everything we do. Our distinguished faculty offers a broad and well-rounded curriculum that provides a strong musical foundation for students of different ages, abilities, and interests. We strive to make Levine education available to everyone. Hundreds of our students receive substantial scholarship assistance; many hundreds more receive free instruction through outreach programs. Visit http://www.levinemusic.org to learn more.