oto by Glenn Triest

rand Performance

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-;71N
.— ianist Neill Eisen-
stein knows where
to find an audience
IEW that grows during a
single concert. It hap-
ens at the Somerset Col-
lection rotunda every
Sunday during Brunch With
the Classics.
Sponsored by the shopping
center and WQRS Radio, the
musical program showcases dif-
ferent artists each week as var-
ious foods are served by a
neighboring restaurant.
Tickets benefit the Detroit
Institute of Arts youth and ed-
ucation programs and the Cen-
ter for Creative Studies School
of Music, where Mr. Eisenstein
teaches.
"What I've noticed whenev-
er I've played is that we start
off with a certain number of
paying customers, but as the

Neill Eisenstein doesn't mind shopping for an audience.

SUZANNE CHESSLER SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

day progresses, more people will
come out in the mall because
they hear the music," said Mr.
Eisenstein, who will be making
his fifth appearance there on
Feb. 27.
"It's like a magnet, drawing
more and more people."
The instrumentalist's up-
coming performance will be as
part of Clarisse, a trio that
selects light and clear music.
Joined by violinist Velda Kelly
and cellist Suzanne Mead, he
will present selections by
Brahms, Beethoven and Men-
delssohn.
"The artists that perform in

this series are always rotating,"
said Mr. Eisenstein, 33, who
has appeared as a soloist and
accompanist, sometimes intro-
ducing his own compositions.
"They try to have a variety
throughout the season."
Mr. Eisenstein took the ini-
tiative in asking to participate
and is happy he has been in-
vited back.
"I'm not a typical, classical
pianist," said the musician, who
also accepts work in theater
productions and for private par-
ties. "I try to make my classical
concerts bring out the type of
feeling rock audiences experi-

ence because I understand that
feeling. I used to have it as a
teen-ager.
"I don't think because classi-
cal music is different that the
feeling has to be different.
When I give a concert, I hope
the audience walks away feel-
ing they've heard something
that matters to them and
makes them excited about it."
Mr. Eisenstein, who attend-
ed Cranbrook and performed
with a Shaarey Zedek-spon-
sored orchestra as he was grow-
ing up, entered Boston's
Berklee College of Music think-
ing he would be a guitar-play-

ing, rock 'n' roll entertainer. The
college, founded as a jazz school,
seemed to offer the kind of cur-
riculum he was seeking.
"At Berklee, I had to take a
variety of courses to finish my
degree, and my outlook
changed," recalled the musi-
cian, who also is scheduled to
present Chopin selections at the
Feb. 21 meeting of the B'nai
David Sisterhood.
"I got a greater appreciation
for classical music, and I found
I was rededicating myself to
actually playing the piano."
Studying the keyboard since
age 4, Mr. Eisenstein went on
to Boston University and the
New England Conservatory,
earning a master's degree in
music with a concentration in
piano performance.

PERFORMANCE page 71