Lang Lang concert highlights Weill Hall's 2015-16 season opening celebration

Weill Hall at Sonoma State University’s Green Music Center has announced plans for the 2015-2016 Season Opening Weekend Oct. 3 and 4, including a gala reception and dinner, a concert with famed pianist Lang Lang and an educational concert presented in association with Lang Lang’s International Music Foundation.

The educational concert, 101 Pianists, will be held at 2 p.m. Oct. 4 in Weill Hall and feature 100 young, local pianists in a joint performance on the stage of Weill Hall with Lang Lang at the helm.

During the finale concert, the 100 young pianists will perform Schubert’s “Marche Militaire” No. 1 and Brahm’s “Hungarian Dance” in F sharp minor after preparing the pieces with their local teachers.

By playing together, the program allows students of the solo piano to enjoy the social nature of making music as an ensemble. Since being launched in 2009, 101 Pianists has been presented in Paris, Berlin, London, Hong Kong Rome and Vancouver.

The Opening Night celebration begins at 6 p.m. Oct. 3 with a cocktail reception in the Prelude Restaurant, followed at 7 p.m. by a recital performance by Lang Lang in Weill Hall. The program includes Bach’s “Concerto Italiano,” Chopin’s Scherzos Nos. 1 to 4 for solo piano and Tchaikovsky’s “The Seasons.”

The black-tie opening gala, led by Green Music Center Gala Committee Co-Chairs Joan Weill and Alice Chiang, concludes with a dinner in a tented pavilion decorated in an elegant Asian, contemporary style by designer Thierry Chantrel of La Follia in San Francisco.

Trevor Kunk, executive chef of Press Napa Valley in St. Helena, will prepare the feast of locally sourced, California cuisine with support from Elaine Bell Catering of Napa.

Tickets to the Opening Night concert by Lang Lang cost between $65 and $175. They will go on sale to MasterCard cardholders at 10 a.m. Aug. 24 and to the public at 10 a.m. Aug. 31. Tickets to 101 Pianists will go on sale at 10 a.m. Aug. 24. For tickets, go to gmc.sonoma.edu.

Tickets to the Season Opening Gala reception and dinner are available now. To reserve, call Caroline Ammann at 664-3517.