Internationally-acclaimed concert pianist Huntley Brown will provide entertainment at the Fox Valley Arts Hall of Fame gala banquet and awards ceremony on Friday, March 31 at Villa Olivia in Bartlett. The celebration honors talented and influential artists with a connection to the Fox Valley area.
The festivities begin with a 5:30 pm cocktail hour featuring the Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra (EYSO) Hanson String Quartet with Kimberly Adams, violin, Kiersten Scherer, violin, Derek Hibben, viola and Benjamin Gilbert, cello. The $75.00 tickets include dinner and entertainment. A cash bar is offered. Each Fox Valley Arts Hall of Fame honoree will be introduced and receive an engraved plaque to be displayed at Hemmens Cultural Center. For reservations or more information, visit FoxValleyArtsHallofFame.org, email murna@ameritech.net or call 847.742.6431.
Huntley Brown grew up in Jamaica. He learned to play the piano by imitating his brothers and taking some lessons, but mostly by listening to different recordings. After high school he played in clubs and bars in Jamaica. Brown moved to the United States and received a bachelor’s in piano performance from Judson University and a master’s in piano performance and pedagogy at Northern Illinois University. His music ministry has taken him all over the world, with TV, radio, and concert appearances in Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Canada, China, England, Estonia, France, Germany, Grenada, Holland, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Indonesia, Japan, Jordan, Latvia, Lithuania, Palestine, South Korea, Romania, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, St. Maarten, St. Vincent, Slovakia, Switzerland, Taiwan, Ukraine and Wales. Brown lives in Aurora, IL with his wife and four daughters. For more information, visit HuntleyBrown.org.
The EYSO Hanson String Quartet (HSQ) was added to the EYSO Chamber Music Institute in 2010 and is named for EYSO’s founding conductor Robert Hanson. It is coached by Australian cellist Timothy Archbold, who has performed with orchestras and string quartets throughout the world. HSQ is offered on full scholarship to its members, who are selected by competitive audition. For more information, visit EYSO.org.
The 2020 Fox Valley Arts Hall of Fame inductees are Patrick F. Beckman, Elgin, Kevin Braheny Fortune, Elgin and Jeffrey Hunt, St. Charles, all in the performing arts; and visual artists Vincent S. Chiaramonte, Campton Hills and Joel C. Sheesley, Wheaton. The 2020 banquet was postponed because of the Covid-19 pandemic. 2022 inductees are Lucille and Sten Halfvarson, performing arts; Olive Beaupré Miller and Charles Pierce Burton, literary arts, all who are deceased and resided in Aurora; and visual artist Joseph Morton (Mort) Luby, Carpentersville. For more information, email info@fvahf.org.
The Fox Valley Arts Hall of Fame (FVAHF) is a nonprofit organization that gives public recognition to artists associated with the Fox Valley. A second objective of the FVAHF is to ensure a strong cultural legacy for future generations.
