AMHC is thrilled to welcome Boston-based concert pianist Miki Sawada, a musician featured in The Boston Globe’s Best of Arts 2021, as she embarks on the Gather Hear Maine Tour. Miki is touring communities nationwide, focusing on rural areas, traveling with her piano to deliver world-class concerts in neighborhood gathering spaces, and connecting with Americans everywhere. On October 1st and 2nd, Sawada will bring her artistry to Maine with FREE public concerts in Presque Isle and Calais.
The concert program, titled “Maine the Beautiful,” features music inspired by the woods and the ocean, as well as music that offers commentary on America’s past and present. The audience’s reflection on these topics will be weaved into the concert experience. A centerpiece is Huang Ruo’s “Meditation on ‘America The Beautiful.’” Additional works are by Maine-based composer Conrad Winslow, Amy Beach, Frederic Chopin, Alexander Scriabin, Jean Sibelius, and William Grant Still.
“AMHC is very pleased to host Miki and the Gather Hear Maine Tour in Aroostook and Washington counties,” said Ellen Bemis, CEO. “We’d like to thank all of our local partners for supporting the events and helping us bring together community members who may not otherwise have access to a concert like this.”
Presque Isle
Tuesday, October 1st
PI High School Auditorium
16 Griffin Street, Presque Isle
10:00 am – 11:15 am
Calais
Wednesday, October 2nd
Washington County Community College
Lecture Hall
1 College Drive, Calais
4:00 pm - 5:15 pm
About The Gather Hear Tour
The Gather Hear Tour, led by Miki Sawada, brings live classical music to communities across all 50 states, performed in accessible community spaces and offered free of charge. The mission of the Gather Hear Tour is to transcend socioeconomic and political boundaries by delivering high-quality classical music outside of traditional concert halls. By moving performances into community settings, Gather Hear fosters a sense of unity, emphasizing the shared human experience through the power of music. The tour has reached over 80 communities, including recent performances in Louisiana (2022), following previous tours in Alaska (2017), West Virginia (2018), Massachusetts (2021), Utah (2021), Louisiana (2022), and Alabama (2023)
About Miki Sawada
Miki has been featured at venues such as: Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, Helsinki Music Centre, The Arctic Philharmonic (Norway), Joe’s Pub at the Public Theater (NYC), and Roulette (Brooklyn). In 2022, she made her soloist debut with the North Mississippi Symphony Orchestra and Portland Columbia Symphony Orchestra. In the summers, she is a faculty member of Heifetz Institute in Virginia. Miki holds degrees from Yale School of Music, Eastman School of Music, and Northwestern University.
