Chamber Music Society brings Grammy winner to Sunset center.

Cellist Lynn Harrell looked at the premature death of his parents as something that made him a stronger person and a stronger musician. 


“I have found the resilience of the human spirit to be extraordinary,” he told cello.org. When Harrell was 16, his father died of cancer; his mother died two years later in a car accident.


That resilience has paid off. Harrell earned two Grammys for Best Chamber Music Performance and appeared at the Vatican with the Royal Philharmonic.


Sunday’s program at the Sunset Center, presented by the Carmel Music Society, pairs the Julliard-trained cellist together with fellow alum and classical pianist with an equally lofty resume. Jon Kimura Parker – currently professor of piano at The Shepherd School of Music at Rice University – is known for tackling some the most difficult pieces, like Brahms 2nd, with ease. He won the prestigious Leeds International Pianoforte Competition in 1984 and in 1999.


The lineup will celebrate the music of Beethoven, Chopin, Bach and Brahms. 


LYNN HARRELL AND JON KIMURA PARKER perform 3pm Sunday, Jan. 16, at Sunset Center, San Carlos at Ninth, Carmel. $40-$60. 624-0147.