PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 8, 2007

CONTACT: Alexander Eubanks
(301)314-9142
aeubank2@umd.edu

College Park, MD -The University of Maryland Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library recently unveiled a new exhibit featuring items related to the lives of three members of an extraordinary family of performers.

The exhibition focuses on the lives and careers of Nadia Reisenberg (pianist), Clara Rockmore (thereminist), and Robert Sherman (broadcaster, author) with photographs and objects from the respective collections in the International Piano Archives at Maryland and Special Collections in Performing Arts.

Nadia Reisenberg was noted for her performances of Mozart as well as of 19th- and 20th-century Russian piano works. The excitement of her concert appearances in the 1920s attracted much attention and she became an important concert pianist of her time.

Clara Rockmore was the leading theremin virtuoso of the twentieth-century. The theremin was seen as a new and unusual instrument, which was what intrigued Rockmore to switch from being a violinist. She often performed on the theremin while her sister, Reisenberg, played piano. They were a huge success together.

Robert Sherman, Reisenberg’s son, worked as a columnist for the New York Times in 1964. In 1969 he began broadcasting on radio and television. Some of his programs included “Woody’s Children,” “Listening Room,” “Vibrations,” and the Young Artist Series. Today he broadcasts on Sirius XM Radio.

Some of the objects on display include original programs from Reisenberg’s concerts, original hand-written sheet music of Rockmore’s, and some of Sherman’s broadcasting awards. There are also photographs on display showing Sherman interviewing many celebrities in the performing arts.

The exhibit is open the same hours as the library.

Any questions regarding the exhibit can be addressed to Vincent Novara, curator, at 301-405-9220.

For more info on the exhibit click here.