Piano sensation to boogie into Pemberville Opera House

He also boasts a pedagogical link to Frederic Chopin himself, having studied classically at Oakland University in Rochester, Mich., with Dr. Flavio Varani, who traced his pedigree of study through the Paris Conservatory back to Frederic Chopin by way of Magda Tagliaferro, Alfred Cortot, and Emile Descombs, who was a late pupil of the composer Chopin.

Matthew-Ball
Matthew Ball, Detroit's own Boogie-Woogie Kid, will
perform at the Pemberville Opera House Feb. 1 as
part of the ongoing Live in the House concert series.

Ball is proof that life can begin again at 30. A native Detroiter and graduate of Oakland University and The University of Detroit Mercy Law School, Ball quickly found himself disillusioned by the day-to-day grind of office work and politics. In 2001 he attended a Motor City Boogie-Woogie & Blues Festival that became for him the start of a journey that would  shape him into one of the nation's leading boogie-woogie and blues pianists.

With a lot of time, work, and effort over the next few years Ball would reach a breakthrough in 2005 with a career-launching performance at the exclusive Arches Piano Stage in Cincinnati, where he shared the stage with some of the same musicians that first inspired him to play back in 2001.

Ball’s Pemberville performance promises to include a special toe-tappin’ program of family piano fun featuring classics like “Swanee River,” “Over the Rainbow,” “The Entertainer,” “Bumble Boogie” and many more.

Tickets are $10 for the show, which kicks off at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available at Beeker’s General Store, 226 E. Front St., Pemberville, or by calling Carol at 419-287-4848. More information is also available at www.pembervilleoperahouse.org.

Find out more about Ball at www.boogiewoogiekid.com or hear a preview of his boogie-woogie skills at www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmM5b4jgijg.

Matthew Ball, Detroit’s own Boogie-Woogie Kid, will perform at the Pemberville Opera House Feb. 1 as part of the ongoing Live in the House concert series.

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