March 03, 2008

Students can see pianist Ax at SIUC for only $10

by Andrea Hahn

Ax

CARBONDALE, Ill. — Students, not to tell you what to do, but you have a great opportunity on April 1, 2008.

No, not to punk your friend into a YouTube moment of shame for April Fool's Day – you can do that any old time.

Instead, you have the opportunity to see world-renowned pianist Emanuel Ax at Southern Illinois University Carbondale's Shryock Auditorium. Wait, it gets better. You can do so at less than a fifth of the price everyone else has to pay – just because you are a student! It's true – general admission tickets for the concert are $55, but students – any age of student, so high school and junior high school, this applies to you, too – get in for $10.

Sure, there are other ways you could spend $10 on a Tuesday night. But this is an investment that is sure to make a worthwhile return because it is probably a once-in-a-lifetime chance.

How's that, you say? Here's why.

First, Ax doesn't generally play small venues. He generally plays at places like Carnegie Hall – where, in fact, he is doing a solo recital program less than a month before coming to Carbondale. He's fitting his Southern Illinois Beethoven concert in between Chopin concerts in Madison, Wis., and Pittsburgh, Pa., before taking off on a European tour that includes major dates in Germany, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Turkey. So, this may well be your one and only chance to see Ax in Southern Illinois. Almost certainly, it will be your only chance to see him at such a steep discount.

Also, this is one of those intangible benefits of college that your counselor or parents or someone probably told you about – you remember that discussion? And here it is. If you are a classic music fan, then you know you don't want to miss seeing a truly great musician. If you aren't, this is your chance to experiment.

And, the next time Ax wins a Grammy – he has seven already – you can smugly point out that you've seen the man himself in concert, when he played with the Southern Illinois Symphony Orchestra.

And hey, he's still one Grammy up on Kanye West.

Tickets – student tickets at $10 – are available online through Ticketmaster at www.siuc.edu/shryock. You can also get them at the SIU Arena or Student Center ticket offices, by calling 618/453-2000 or the day of the performance at Shryock Auditorium.

The SIUC Student Fine Arts Activity Fees underwrite Ax's appearance. Proceeds from the concert benefit the School of Music scholarship and visiting artist funds.