January 16, 2020 | 10:30 am
Rehearsal Hall
The 5 Browns
The 5 Browns are delivering on their dream to wake up classical music by introducing it to the widest, largest and most excited audience they can find. Whether performing individually or together in various combinations from duo to complex five-piano arrangements, The 5 Browns reveal a deep connection to the intent of their material while bringing a fresh energy and dynamic character to the color and tonal spectrum of their sound.
The 5 Browns—Ryan, Melody, Gregory, Deondra and Desirae—all attended New York’s Juilliard School. In fact, they became the first family of five siblings ever accepted simultaneously. The quintet enjoyed their first wave of critical attention in February 2002 when People magazine dubbed them the “Fab Five” at about the same time they were featured on Oprah and 60 Minutes. The 5 Browns have released three CDs that each went to #1 on Billboard Magazine’s Classical Album Chart. The New York Post has proclaimed: “One family, five pianos and 50 fingers add up to the biggest classical music sensation in years…When these kids do Rachmaninoff, they’ll make you forget about Marshall amps.”
The quintet has garnered extensive coverage from media outlets ranging from The Tonight Show, Good Morning America, The Today Show, and The View, to CNN, Fox and Friends, Public Radio’s Performance Today, as well as The New York Times, Parade, People, the Los Angeles Times, the Sunday London Telegraph and Entertainment Weekly.
The 5 Browns tour extensively and have performed in numerous venues including Carnegie Hall’s Isaac Stern Auditorium, Grand National Theater in China, Suntory Hall in Japan and, in the United States, The Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, Symphony Hall in Chicago and Alice Tully Hall in New York City. Individually and collaboratively, they have soloed with orchestras around the world, including the Saint Louis Symphony, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the New Jersey Symphony, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestre de chambre de Paris.
In addition to touring, The 5 Browns are published writers. Their book, Life Between the Keys, a lighthearted collection of personal stories, was published by Phoenix Books in March 2009.
The group was also featured in a PBS TV special, “The 5 Browns In Concert” which aired on PBS stations throughout the country.
A highlight for the quintet was a commissioned five-piano concerto written by famed composer Nico Mühly. Under the direction of Maestro James Conlon, the concerto premiered in 2011 at the Ravinia Festival with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
The 2017/18 season will include the release of their 7th album with Grammy award winning producer Adam Abeshouse, which in addition to musical favorites from their childhood will also feature an illustrated book authored by NY Times best seller Liesl Shurtliff.
The 5 Browns are managed by IMG artists, and are exclusive Steinway Artists.
The Fran Park Center and Pinnacle Presbyterian Church is pleased to once again host the January Series from Calvin College. The January Series cultivates deep thought and conversations about important issues of the day in order to inspire cultural renewal and make us better global citizens in God's world.