HOLIDAY GRANDE 2019: Pianist Jim McDonough Returns to Hoyt Sherman Place with All-New Holiday Show to Benefit Camp Courageous of Iowa

It’s beginning to SOUND a lot like Christmas! “Iowa’s Own Pianist” Jim McDonough and his orchestra and singers have announced a statewide tour this holiday season with a dazzling allnew production benefitting Camp Courageous of Iowa (CampCourageous.org).

Tickets for the seven-city tour are on sale now, including a performance stop at Hoyt Sherman Place in Des Moines on Saturday, December 7th at 2:30 p.m. Other cities on the tour include Anamosa, Ottumwa, Davenport, Cedar Rapids, Cedar Falls, and Dubuque, Iowa.

This spectacular holiday stage production — new for 2019 — features acclaimed International Steinway Concert and Recording Artist, Jim McDonough at a concert grand piano, his professional 14-piece orchestra, a cast of sensational singers and dancers, elaborate sets and costumes and the true spirit of the season.

The tour will deliver the message of Christmas in a production perfect for all generations.

“We’ve put together the grandest ‘Holiday Grande’ yet,” McDonough says. “It’s elegant, it’s exciting, it’s filled with spectacular musical arrangements, and it benefits a wonderful organization.”

For the past twelve years, McDonough’s holiday tour has benefitted Camp Courageous of Iowa, a year-round respite and recreational facility for individuals of all ages with disabilities.

All seating is reserved. Tickets are $29-$48, and are available now by calling (800) 745-3000, online at TicketMaster.com, or to avoid delivery fees, purchase in person at the Hoyt Sherman Place Box Office. For information, visit www.PianoFavorites.com.

ABOUT JIM McDONOUGH

After stints as a high school band director, cruise ship entertainer and air-traffic controller, Monticello native, Jim McDonough, began selling his distinctive brand of soothing piano music in gift shops in eastern Iowa. Today, the International Steinway Concert and Recording Artist’s CDs are available in stores across the country and via his Web site, www.PianoFavorites.com. Jim’s independent production company, Jim McDonough Productions, Inc., has sold a quartermillion of his CDs, manages his concert appearances, and produces his annual tours.

The road to success, though, has been paved with detours. In eighth grade, an accident nearly ended his musical career. A falling piano crushed three fingers on his right hand – and nearly crushed his dreams in the process. Jim emerged from two hours of surgery with pins in his fingers and tiny fractures across his hand. But throughout more than a year of physical therapy, Jim kept playing – with a cast on his right hand – and concentrated on improving his performance with his left hand. “Playing the piano defined me,” McDonough says. “It was my life, and I was determined to play again.” He devoted nearly every spare moment to working to get back the dexterity in his right hand, and the rigorous rehearsing paid off. In ninth grade, instead of a car, Jim bought a Steinway grand piano to celebrate how far he’d come.

In 2010, McDonough was honored by the legendary piano maker, Steinway & Sons, naming him to its worldwide artist roster. As a Steinway Artist, McDonough joins an exclusive international list of the most accomplished and discriminating performing artists, including classical pianist, Lang Lang; jazz star, Harry Connick Jr.; pop icon, Billy Joel; and “immortals,” Irving Berlin and Cole Porter.

His discography includes Requests (2002); Home for Christmas (2003); Projections: Songs from the Silver Screen (2004); An Ivory Christmas (2004); Music of the Night (2004); Simple Gifts (2005); With Love (2006); Homeward Bound (2007); Country Dreaming (2008); A Christmas to Remember (2008); Rat Pack Remembered (2009); Isn’t It Romantic (2010); Young At Heart (2011); Christmas Eve (2011); One Nation Under God (2012); Country Roads (2013); Broadway Dreams (2014); and his latest release, Holiday Grande (2016).

For more information, visit Jim McDonough’s web site at www.PianoFavorites.com or call (800) 375-7095.