Gershwin celebration set for April 26

A recital and workshop for children celebrating the iconic musical book of George Gershwin has been arranged for April 26 (Sunday) at the Greenwich Arts Council (299 Greenwich Ave.), starting at 4 p.m. "Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue" has been assembled by Naomi Onda, a piano teacher and composer at the Riverside School of Music who recently moved to Cos Cob from New York City.

Pianist Naomi Onda

The presentation showcases the musical talent of Onda, saxophonist Yuto Mitomi, vocalist Nagisa Karia and dancer Honomi Kuwana, all of New York City. As part of the workshop, youngsters get the opportunity to dance under Kuwana's tutelage.
Gershwin's place in the American musical mosaic is also to be reviewed by Valerie Cella, a student at Greenwich High School. Admission is $10, payable at the door.

Onda has been a teacher at the Riverside school since 2008, the year her CD "From Manhattan" was distributed globally. She was three when she started playing the piano and attended Osaka University in her native Japan where she composed music for television. She also composed music for the New York Men's Choir since immigrating to the U.S. in 2004.

Saxophonist Yuto Mitomi

Mitomi, the saxophonist, also plays clarinet and flute and composes and arranges jazz. He has performed across the tristate area and his debut album, "At The Park," is scheduled for release this year. He took up the saxophone in junior high school in Japan and also studied at City College of New York. The vocalist, Karia, majored in music at Senzoku Gakuen College in Japan and has appeared as a jazz singer at the Rockwood Music Hall in New York City.

Dancer Honomi Kuwana

Kuwana is associated with New York's Vissi Dance Theater and Phyllis Rose Dance Company and has appeared with the Cirque de Soleil and at the Apollo Theater. She studied at the Joffrey Ballet School and was a first-place winner in the House Dance International last year. Her dance repertoire extends over jazz, hip-hop, the Gyrokineis method of movement and even capoeira, Brazilian martial arts.