Violinist Hilary Hahn will join the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra as the outstanding soloist in the Pennington Foundation’s Great Performers in Concert Series on Saturday, March 25.
PHOTO SUPPLIED BY OJ SLAUGHTER
Let’s tackle the essentials first.
Violinist Hilary Hahn is a three-time Grammy winner with 21 albums and has been hailed as one of the pre-eminent violinists of her generation, with Musical America magazine named her Artist of the Year for 2023.
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She will also perform with the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra as the Irene W. and CB Pennington Foundation Great Performers in Concert Soloist at Raising Cane’s River Center Performing Arts Theater on Saturday, March 25.
Violinist Hilary Hahn will join the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra as the outstanding soloist in the Pennington Foundation’s Great Performers in Concert Series on Saturday, March 25.
PHOTO SUPPLIED BY OJ SLAUGHTER
Will it be her first trip to Baton Rouge? Yes, and she’s definitely looking forward to trying great Louisiana food.
With that, let’s move on to some non-essential things that all come together in a way to enrich the information you’ve just heard.
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Like the time when Hahn was a guest soloist on “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood”. That’s a big deal for anyone who grew up watching the late Fred Rogers’ children’s television, which almost everyone over a certain age is, including Hahn.
Violinist Hilary Hahn will join the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra as the outstanding soloist in the Pennington Foundation’s Great Performers in Concert Series on Saturday, March 25.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY DANA VAN LEEUWEN/DECCA
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It didn’t matter that she was in her early 20s because nobody was ever too old to be a Mr. Rogers fan. Even growing up in a television-free household couldn’t dampen Hahn’s enthusiasm.
“I didn’t have a TV when I was a kid because my parents loved to read and stuff like that,” she said. “And when we went on vacation to the beach once a year, there was a TV in the hotel room and I was always looking for ‘Mr. Rogers’. ‘Mr. Rogers’ was my favorite TV show when I was a kid, so it was just such an honor to be invited to be on the show.”
Hahn made her mark in the classical music world as a young violinist, and was named “America’s Best Young Classical Musician” by Time Magazine. Still, she was struck by the stars.
Violinist Hilary Hahn will join the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra as the outstanding soloist in the Pennington Foundation’s Great Performers in Concert Series on Saturday, March 25.
PHOTO SUPPLIED BY OJ SLAUGHTER
That was Mr. Rogers, after all. The Mr. Rogers, and she wasn’t going to be watching him from the other side of a hotel TV screen.
“When I got there, he was exactly like he was on the show, exactly the same personality,” Hahn said. “It wasn’t a character he was playing, it was him. And his wife was a pianist, so he had an affinity for music, an understanding of it. And I remember in the interview he had this pace of speaking where I felt like I should say more.”
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