Dranoff 2 Piano Fusion, the Miami nonprofit built around music for two pianos, opens its 40th anniversary season on Saturday, Nov. 7, at the Aventura Arts & Cultural Center with the world premiere of a new work by composer Adam Schoenberg. The concert, titled Timeless Harmonies: Celebrating 40 Years of Making Music, starts at 8 p.m.

Schoenberg is a Grammy-nominated and Emmy-winning composer who writes for both orchestras and film, and the organization notes that he ranks among the 10 most performed living composers by American orchestras. His new piece will be played by pianists Glen Inanga and Rebeca Omordia with the Amernet String Quartet and guest bassist Paola Garcia. The rest of the program is built around the work of Black classical composers.

Who is on stage

  • Glen Inanga became a laureate of the Dranoff International Two Piano Competition in 1999 and now performs internationally as a concert pianist.
  • Rebeca Omordia is an award-winning classical pianist whose work centers on African classical music.
  • The Amernet String Quartet formed at the Juilliard School and won the gold medal at the Tokyo International Music Competition and first prize at the Banff International String Quartet Competition. It is the ensemble in residence at Florida International University. Its members are violinists Misha Vitenson and Avi Nagin, violist Michael Klotz and cellist Jason Calloway.

The rest of the anniversary season

The Aventura premiere is the first of four programs Dranoff has scheduled for its 40th season:

  • Feb. 5 and 6, 2027, 8 p.m., Sanctuary of the Arts: Madrid's Dúo Scarbó, pianists Laura Scarbó and Cristina Lucio-Villegas, play works by Spanish composers with Spanish dancer África Ramírez. Reserved seats are $40 to $50.
  • March 6, 2027, 8 p.m.: a New Orleans program curated by Miami singer Nicole Yarling, with Grammy-nominated New Orleans pianist Kyle Roussel and Dranoff music director Martin Bejerano, drawing on the music of Louis Armstrong, Fats Domino and Professor Longhair. General admission is $40.
  • April 23, 2027, 7:30 p.m.: Piano Slam, now in its 18th year, where Miami-Dade students perform spoken-word poetry with two pianos after six months of classroom residencies and a districtwide poetry competition. Four students win $1,000 each. Tickets are $10, and the show is free for teachers and Miami-Dade County Public Schools students and their families.

Tickets and getting there

Dranoff lists reserved seating for the Nov. 7 concert at $45 to $55. The Aventura Arts & Cultural Center also sells a VIP ticket that adds preferred seating and two glasses of wine for guests 21 and older who check in before the show, and students can buy tickets at the box office on the day of the performance with a valid student ID.

The center is at 3385 NE 188th St. Free parking is available in the lots next to the center, in front of the Aventura Community Recreation Center and the Aventura City of Excellence School, and valet is $20 for ticketed events. Tickets are sold through the Aventura Arts & Cultural Center's website and box office.

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