Might be the other way around: they promote this pianist by those qualities to make their event seem more "diverse".
Has anyone else noticed that autism has become very fashionable lately?
Genius Weekend Showcase - Celebrating Genius in Unexpected Places
6:30pm - 9:30pm - $250 per person
Genius Weekend’s elegant opening event on Friday, June 8, celebrates genius in unexpected places, showcasing artists on the autism spectrum. This gala evening will take place in the extraordinary North San Diego County home of Mainly Mozart Board Chair DeAnn Cary. Enjoy fine food and wines, valet parking and an art display of works by local artists on the autism spectrum. Derek Paravicini, Alexander Pruetting and Reed Moriarty will be among the artists featured.
Saturday, June 9, 2018
Music & the Mind in The Gaslamp
11:00am - 5:00pm $25 All-Day Pass
$100 VIP Pass (includes admission to hosted VIP Lounge)
Music & the Mind features presentations by some of the greatest minds in autism-music research and therapies plus performances by exceptional artists on the autism spectrum. Speakers and musicians will be featured in three Gaslamp Quarter venues adjacent to the Balboa Theatre. Interactive neuro-technology displays, special lunch menus and specialty craft cocktails are all part of this afternoon of music-brain exploration. The day opens with a dress rehearsal of the Festival Orchestra at the Balboa Theatre. Also at the Balboa is a sensory-friendly concert featuring Sesame Street’s Julia. This concert is specifically designed for people on the autism spectrum and their families – both at the Balboa Theatre.
Saturday, June 9, 2018
9:30pm - 11:30pm $150 (includes party and ticket to the June 9th opening night concert)
This year’s Genius Night party honors Nobel Laureate and Salk Institute President Emerita Elizabeth Blackburn. Following that evening’s performance by the incomparable Michael Francis and the Mainly Mozart Festival Orchestra, walk from the Balboa Theatre to the Sparks Gallery and mingle with San Diego’s tech geniuses, forty of the nation’s top orchestral musicians, and researchers and academics in the field of autism. Tickets include admission to the party, as well as an “A” section ticket to the opening concert of the Festival Orchestra, featuring pianist Anne-Marie McDermott at the Balboa Theatre. The Sparks Gallery will be displaying art by Nobel Laureate Roger Guillemin and local autistic artist Jeremy Sicile-Kira.
Sunday, June 10, 2018
Balboa Theatre
7:30pm Concert
Blind and autistic, Derek Paravicini is a keyboard genius. With a repertoire of thousands of memorized pieces, he is the subject of the biography “In the Key of Genius” and has been featured three times on 60 Minutes. Mr. Paravicini will perform a world-premiere work, commissioned by Mainly Mozart for this very special closing Genius Weekend event. The program also features the Festival Orchestra (including a side-by-side performance with Mainly Mozart’s Youth Orchestra), Los Angeles Philharmonic Concertmaster Martin Chalifour in Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending, and a closing half featuring Derek in a program of jazz and popular works.