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4/17/2026

Don’t Miss Grammy-Nominated Jazz Pianist Fred Hersch at WUTC Benefit Next Tuesday

Join us for an evening with jazz piano legend Fred Hersch.
All proceeds benefit WUTC.

Seventeen-time Grammy-nominated jazz pianist and composer Fred Hersch will perform a solo piano concert on Tuesday, April 21, at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Fine Arts Center’s Roland Hayes Concert Hall, with proceeds from ticket sales benefiting WUTC-FM 88.1.

Hersch’s visit to UTC was made possible by a gift from Ken and Nancy Dryden.

Tickets for the 7:30 p.m. performance can be purchased online at utc.edu/arts-and-sciences/fine-arts-center and through the UTC Fine Arts Center Box Office—in person or by phone at 423-425-4269. VIP seating in the lower center sections is $38, including service fees; all other adult tickets are $28, and student tickets are $18 with a valid student ID.

The UTC Fine Arts Center is located at the intersection of Dr. Roland Carter Street (formerly known as Vine Street) and Palmetto Street on the UTC campus. Parking is available in the adjacent Lupton Hall Parking Garage (700 Vine St.) and is free beginning at 5 p.m.

Hersch is widely regarded as one of the most influential jazz pianists of his generation, with a career spanning more than three decades as an improviser, bandleader, collaborator and educator. He has received numerous international honors, including recognition as a Doris Duke Artist and multiple Jazz Pianist of the Year awards from the Jazz Journalists Association.

“When it comes to the art of solo piano in jazz, there are currently two classes of performers: Fred Hersch and everybody else,” wrote Dan Bilawsky of All About Jazz.

With more than 50 albums to his credit as a leader or co-leader, Hersch has earned consistent critical acclaim for recordings and performances highlighting his expressive interpretation and inventive creativity. His 2024 release, “Silent, Listening,” was produced by Manfred Eicher for ECM Records, while earlier recordings with his long-standing trio—including the acclaimed “Live in Europe”—have been recognized among the most significant jazz releases of their era.

In addition to his performing career, Hersch is the author of the memoir “Good Things Happen Slowly,” which chronicles his life in music. “Good Things Happen Slowly” was named one of the best memoirs of 2017 by The Washington Post and The New York Times.

As a composer, he has created works such as “Leaves of Grass”—a large-scale setting of Walt Whitman’s poetry—and the multimedia project “My Coma Dreams.”

Listeners can also hear more from Hersch ahead of the performance in an interview with Ken Dryden, airing on WUTC’s Timeless Jazz from 6-8 p.m. on Sunday, April 12, offering insight into his life and music.

We hope to see you at the show!

It's the final day of the WUTC Spring Fund Drive

Thank you to everyone who has called in, donated online, and shown up for WUTC this week. Your support keeps this station strong and independent.

A special thanks to our volunteers and interns who gave their time to make this drive possible—we couldn’t do it without you.

If you haven’t had a chance to give yet, there’s still time. You can donate anytime at wutc.org, and every contribution, no matter the size, helps keep WUTC on the air.

Today is your last chance to call in at (423) 425-5746, make your donation live on air, and pick up one of our remaining thank-you gifts, including locally produced honey, tickets to see Lake Street Dive, The War and Treaty, Jay Leno, the National Cornbread Festival, and more.

Help us continue our work by making a donation today.​

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