Wayne concert series returns with renowned pianist

Award-winning pianist Inna Faliks will perform May 2 in the village of Wayne to raise money for historic preservation and local music programs.

The concert, set for 4 p.m. at the Little Home Church by the Wayside, 32W128 Army Trail Road, is the sixth in an ongoing annual series to raise money for the Wayne Historical Preservation Society and the church's developing music program.

Faliks, who debuted with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at age 15, is a faculty member at Northeastern Illinois University and past winner of the St. Charles International Piano Competition.

The Ukrainian-born pianist also is a regular guest on WFMT in Chicago and has played Carnegie Hall and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Boston's Pickman Hall and Paris' Salle Cortot, among other internationally known venues.

Concert organizer Carol Berger said Faliks will perform on a Bluthner grand piano that was donated to the church in recent years.

"She has quite a following," Berger said. "People can literally drive a mile or two to see this amazing talent that some people travel across the world for."

Tickets are $30, or $15 for students, with seating limited to about 140. The Dunham Woods Riding Club in Wayne also is offering dinner packages with the musician following the concert for $30.

For more information, call Berger at (630) 584-7088 or Nancy Alex at (630) 513-0303. E-mail inquiries can be sent to wayneconcert@sbcglobal.net.