New date for Grammy winning CPP prof’s benefit concert for Ukraine

Grammy award winner and Cal Poly Pomona professor Nadia Shpachenko has postponed her benefit concert featuring music from her latest album, “Invasion: Music and Art for Ukraine,” to 8 p.m. Wednesday, December 7 at Cal Poly Pomona Recital Hall, 3801 W. Temple Ave, Pomona.

Tickets are $15 for general admission and $10 for students and seniors with ID. Ticket sales will benefit Cal Poly Pomona student scholarships. Proceeds from “Invasion” CD sales at the concert will be donated to Lisa Batiashvili Foundation, which supports Ukrainian musicians affected by the war, and to Razom for Ukraine, an organization that is raising funds for portable heat and power sources for Ukrainians, many of whom are now without power.

Shpachenko was born in Kharkiv, Ukraine. She turned to music as way to deal with the horrors of watching Russian forces invade Ukraine on February 24, she said. The title track of her new record, “Invasion,” is “the response of Shpachenko’s longtime collaborator Lewis Spratlan’s to the tragic war,” a news release read.

The “gifted and talented pianist” (San Francisco Chronicle) will play select works from “Invasion,” including the West Coast premiere of “Piano Suite No. 1” by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Lewis Spratlan. Shpachenko will also perform compositions by Christopher Cerrone, Tom Flaherty, Oliver Dubon, and CPP professor Evan Ware from her upcoming release of soccer-inspired world premieres. “Invasion” was described as the “outstanding contemporary-music disc of the year” by Fanfare magazine.

Shpachenko won a Grammy in 2020 for best classical compendium for her album “The Poetry of Places.” She was previously nominated for the 58th Grammy Awards for her debut Reference Recordings CD “Woman at the New Piano: American Music of 2013” in the best classical compendium and best chamber music/small ensemble performance categories.

For more information about “Invasion,” visit referencerecordings.com.

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