HOLIDAY GRANDE 2012:
"Iowa's Own Pianist" Jim McDonough Launches Holiday Concert Tour to Benefit Camp Courageous
MONTICELLO, IA (November 27, 2012) ? It's beginning to SOUND a lot like Christmas! "Iowa's Own Pianist" Jim McDonough and his orchestra and singers are touring the state with a sensational all-new production show benefitting Camp Courageous of Iowa. Tickets for the tour are on sale now.
The spectacular holiday stage production -- new for 2012 -- features International Steinway Concert and Recording Artist, Jim McDonough at the concert grand piano, his 14-piece orchestra, a cast of singers and dancers, elaborate sets and costumes and the true spirit of the season.
The tour will deliver the message of Christmas in a production perfect for all generations. "We've put together the grandest 'Holiday Grande' yet," McDonough says. "It's elegant, it's exciting, it's filled with spectacular musical arrangements, and it benefits a wonderful organization."
For seven years, McDonough has toured to benefit Camp Courageous of Iowa, a year-round respite and recreational facility for individuals of all ages with disabilities. The "Holiday Grande 2012" tour encompasses seven shows in six of Iowa's most beautiful venues:
Ottumwa - Saturday, December 1, at 2:30 p.m. at the Bridge View Center Theatre
"Iowa's Own Pianist" Jim McDonough Launches Holiday Concert Tour to Benefit Camp Courageous
MONTICELLO, IA (November 27, 2012) ? It's beginning to SOUND a lot like Christmas! "Iowa's Own Pianist" Jim McDonough and his orchestra and singers are touring the state with a sensational all-new production show benefitting Camp Courageous of Iowa. Tickets for the tour are on sale now.
The spectacular holiday stage production -- new for 2012 -- features International Steinway Concert and Recording Artist, Jim McDonough at the concert grand piano, his 14-piece orchestra, a cast of singers and dancers, elaborate sets and costumes and the true spirit of the season.
The tour will deliver the message of Christmas in a production perfect for all generations. "We've put together the grandest 'Holiday Grande' yet," McDonough says. "It's elegant, it's exciting, it's filled with spectacular musical arrangements, and it benefits a wonderful organization."
For seven years, McDonough has toured to benefit Camp Courageous of Iowa, a year-round respite and recreational facility for individuals of all ages with disabilities. The "Holiday Grande 2012" tour encompasses seven shows in six of Iowa's most beautiful venues:
Ottumwa - Saturday, December 1, at 2:30 p.m. at the Bridge View Center Theatre
Des Moines - Sunday, December 2, at 2:30 p.m. at Hoyt Sherman Place
Dubuque - Saturday, December 8, at 2:30 p.m. & 7:30 p.m. at the Five Flags Theater
Dubuque - Saturday, December 8, at 2:30 p.m. & 7:30 p.m. at the Five Flags Theater
Cedar Rapids - Sunday, December 9, at 2:30 p.m. at the Paramount Theatre
Davenport - Saturday, December 15, at 2:30 p.m. at the Adler Theatre
Cedar Falls - Sunday, December 16, at 2:30 p.m. at the Gallagher-Bluedorn Perf. Arts Ctr
Cedar Falls - Sunday, December 16, at 2:30 p.m. at the Gallagher-Bluedorn Perf. Arts Ctr
Jim McDonough's 15 CDs - including his brand new album "One Nation Under God" - are available at gift shops across the country and via his Web site, www.PianoFavorites.com.
ABOUT JIM McDONOUGH
After stints as a high school band director, cruise ship entertainer and air-traffic controller, Monticello native, Jim McDonough, began selling his distinctive brand of soothing piano music in gift shops in eastern Iowa. Today, the International Steinway Concert and Recording Artist's CDs are available in nearly 1,000 stores across the country and via his Web site, www.PianoFavorites.com. Jim's independent record label, Jim McDonough Productions, Inc., has already sold nearly 200,000 of his CDs.
The road to success, though, has been paved with detours. In eighth grade, an accident nearly ended his musical career. A falling piano crushed three fingers on his right hand - and nearly crushed his dreams in the process. Jim emerged from two hours of surgery with pins in his fingers and tiny fractures across his hand. But throughout more than a year of physical therapy, Jim kept playing - with a cast on his right hand - and concentrated on improving his performance with his left hand. "Playing the piano defined me," McDonough says. "It was my life, and I was determined to play again." He devoted nearly every spare moment to working to get back the dexterity in his right hand, and the rigorous rehearsing paid off. In ninth grade, instead of a car, Jim bought a Steinway grand piano to celebrate how far he'd come.
McDonough was recently honored by the legendary piano maker, Steinway & Sons, naming him to its worldwide artist roster. From classical pianists like Lang Lang, to jazz stars like Harry Connick Jr., to pop icons like Billy Joel, to "immortals" like Irving Berlin and Cole Porter; as a Steinway Artist, McDonough joins an exclusive international list of the most accomplished and discriminating performing artists.
His discography includes Requests (2002); Home for Christmas: Christmas Favorites Vol. I (2003); Projections: Songs from the Silver Screen (2004); An Ivory Christmas (2004); Music of the Night (2004); Simple Gifts: Songs of Faith & Inspiration, Vol. I (2005); With Love: Timeless Love Songs, Vol. I (2006); Homeward Bound: Songs of Faith & Inspiration, Vol. II (2007); Country Dreaming (2008); A Christmas to Remember: Christmas Favorites Vol. II (2008); Rat Pack Remembered (2009); Isn't It Romantic: Timeless Love Songs, Vol. II (2010); Young At Heart (2011); Christmas Eve: Christmas Favorites, Vol. III (2011); and his brand new release, One Nation Under God: Songs of Faith & Inspiration, Vol. III (2012).
For more information, visit Jim McDonough's web site at www.PianoFavorites.com or call (800) 375-7095.
ABOUT JIM McDONOUGH
After stints as a high school band director, cruise ship entertainer and air-traffic controller, Monticello native, Jim McDonough, began selling his distinctive brand of soothing piano music in gift shops in eastern Iowa. Today, the International Steinway Concert and Recording Artist's CDs are available in nearly 1,000 stores across the country and via his Web site, www.PianoFavorites.com. Jim's independent record label, Jim McDonough Productions, Inc., has already sold nearly 200,000 of his CDs.
The road to success, though, has been paved with detours. In eighth grade, an accident nearly ended his musical career. A falling piano crushed three fingers on his right hand - and nearly crushed his dreams in the process. Jim emerged from two hours of surgery with pins in his fingers and tiny fractures across his hand. But throughout more than a year of physical therapy, Jim kept playing - with a cast on his right hand - and concentrated on improving his performance with his left hand. "Playing the piano defined me," McDonough says. "It was my life, and I was determined to play again." He devoted nearly every spare moment to working to get back the dexterity in his right hand, and the rigorous rehearsing paid off. In ninth grade, instead of a car, Jim bought a Steinway grand piano to celebrate how far he'd come.
McDonough was recently honored by the legendary piano maker, Steinway & Sons, naming him to its worldwide artist roster. From classical pianists like Lang Lang, to jazz stars like Harry Connick Jr., to pop icons like Billy Joel, to "immortals" like Irving Berlin and Cole Porter; as a Steinway Artist, McDonough joins an exclusive international list of the most accomplished and discriminating performing artists.
His discography includes Requests (2002); Home for Christmas: Christmas Favorites Vol. I (2003); Projections: Songs from the Silver Screen (2004); An Ivory Christmas (2004); Music of the Night (2004); Simple Gifts: Songs of Faith & Inspiration, Vol. I (2005); With Love: Timeless Love Songs, Vol. I (2006); Homeward Bound: Songs of Faith & Inspiration, Vol. II (2007); Country Dreaming (2008); A Christmas to Remember: Christmas Favorites Vol. II (2008); Rat Pack Remembered (2009); Isn't It Romantic: Timeless Love Songs, Vol. II (2010); Young At Heart (2011); Christmas Eve: Christmas Favorites, Vol. III (2011); and his brand new release, One Nation Under God: Songs of Faith & Inspiration, Vol. III (2012).
For more information, visit Jim McDonough's web site at www.PianoFavorites.com or call (800) 375-7095.
