about

The Sound Bridges is proud to present an evening of music and poetry from an array of artists throughout time and history, performed by two nuanced and seasoned performers; pianist Llewellyn Sanchez-Werner and pianist and poet Natalie Nedvetsky. The intertwining of music and poetry allows for the disciplines to interact. This thoughtfully curated program explores themes of change. From micro to macro, from self to many, from home to the corners of the earth and from the inside, out, change is a part of our story.

A special feature of this program is that instead of presenting the name of the composer and the work at the start of each selection, the information will appear at the end of each selection. This will allow you as the listener to sit with your imagination, and to fully immerse yourself in the artistic experience.
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MUSIC

Beethoven

Carlos Chavez

Florence Price

Schumann-Liszt

Duke Ellington

William Grant Still

POETRY

Anna Ahkmatova

Natalie Vargas Nedvetsky

Regina Blackwell

Florrie Marshall

Hollis E. Pruitt

LLEWELLYN SANCHEZ-WERNER, PIANO

“Poetic, electrifying” (Michigan Live), “a gifted virtuoso” (San Francisco Chronicle), “masterful technique and a veritable deluge of sonorities” (La Presse Montreal), and “mesmerizing artistry and extraordinary ability to communicate” (The Post-Standard), describe Llewellyn Sanchez-Werner for performances that have stirred the intellect and humanity of his audiences on five continents. Selected a Gilmore Young Artist, an honor awarded every two years highlighting the most promising American pianists of the new generation, it also held deep meaning for him to perform at the White House, and at the Kennedy Center for President Obama’s second Inauguration concert.

Sanchez-Werner’s multi-faceted artistry has been featured on NPR, CNN International, the Wall Street Journal, and WDR-Arte. He received the Atlantic Council Young Global Citizen Award recognizing his dedication to social action through music in such countries as Iraq, Rwanda, France, Canada, and the United States. General Petraeus commended his “courageous humanitarian contributions through the arts…strengthening the ties that unite our nations.”  

His recent international performances include The Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, CultureSummit in Abu Dhabi, the Louvre and Grenoble Museums in France, Smetana Hall in the Czech Republic, State Philharmonic Hall in Slovakia, Ashford Castle in Ireland, Gijon International Piano Festival in Spain, and Verbier Festival in Switzerland.

Sanchez-Werner holds Master and Bachelor of Music degrees from Juilliard where he was awarded the Kovner Fellowship. Principal teachers have included Ilya Itin, Yoheved Kaplinsky, Robert Durso, and composition with Lowell Liebermann. Sanchez-Werner studies with Boris Berman at the Yale School of Music, where he was awarded the Charles S. Miller Prize in their prestigious Artist Diploma program.

NATALIE VARGAS NEDVETSKY, SPOKEN WORD

Natalie Vargas Nedvetsky is a pianist, poet, and communicator dedicated to the intertwining of words and music through creative mediums. Originally from Chicago, she studied piano performance at The Juilliard School and creative writing at Columbia University in the City of New York and is now obtaining her master’s degree at The Johns Hopkins University/Peabody Institute. She has been a laureate of several major international piano competitions, and has performed across the US and Europe, in halls such as Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Concert Noble Brussels, and more. In each of her solo piano performances, she combines poems and piano repertoire, creating a rich and surprising artistic journey for her audience.

Natalie is the founder and artistic director of Literary Music Series, a performing arts organization that champions the intertwining of art forms through live-streamed weekly performances/discussions and promotes their integration into the way we think and live our lives.

As part of this organization, she authors a newsletter entitled Literary Thoughts: a series of monthly essays pertaining to works of art.

Her first poetry collection, “I quiet the world”, came out on August 1st, 2020.