Live Performances
On May 30, 2007, Bortnick opened Nelly Furtado's US tour at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida. This was her first show in the United States on her tour.
On June 1, 2008, Bortnick performed a full concert with the Naples Philharmonic Orchestra, under the musical direction of Andrew Lane. He was 7 years old and was the youngest performer to ever perform as the piano soloist with the Naples Orchestra.
On October 4, 2008, Bortnick performed to raise money for the Miami Children's Hospital foundation's Diamond Ball and Concert, featuring Beyoncé Knowles, Smokey Robinson, and Gloria Gaynor at the American Airlines Arena in Miami, FL. A record $12 million was raised for the Foundation.
On September 15, 2008, Bortnick became the youngest co-host for the Chabad Telethon. With Bortnick co-hosting this live telethon, seen by millions of viewers, the telethon raised a record $8 million in one night.
On October 23, 2008, Bortnick performed for OneXOne to help raise money to help fight hunger, health issues and preserve the lives of children locally and globally. Matt Damon held an auction at the event with Ethan and Josh Groban. Other performers and celebrities included Santana, David Arquette, Josh Groban, and Wyclef Jean.
On January 6, 2009, Bortnick performed at a dinner hosted by Nancy Pelosi to honor the swearing in of the 111th United States Congress. Bortnick was the only performer the entire night.
On January 10, 2009, and January 11, 2009, Bortnick performed with the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra under the musical direction of Andrew Lane. He was 8 years old and was the youngest performer to ever perform as the piano soloist with the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra
On February 4, 2009, Bortnick performed at a fundraiser benefiting the Miami Children’s Hospital Foundation with chef Emeril Lagasse. Bortnick performed a song he wrote for Lagasse entitled "Bam — Kick It up a Notch" and presented the chef with the song’s lyrics.
On February 16, 2009, Bortnick performed in Sydney, Australia. The reaction and reviews were extremely favorable, with reviews stating "Within minutes Ethan... had the audience laughing with his wit and sense of timing.... He has a unique mix of charisma, talent and good sense of humour, and therefore it was phenomenal to see someone of that age able to play piano with such skill and also entertain the crowd.."
On March 3, 2009, Bortnick performed with his friend Mark Rivera, who has been a featured member of Billy Joel's band since 1982 and has toured the world with John Lennon, Peter Gabriel, Simon & Garfunkel, The Eagles, and was Ringo Starr's musical director. Bortnick and Rivera performed, the day after the kickoff of Billy Joel's and Elton John's Face-to-Face Tour. The performance was in an inner city school to inspire young kids not to get discouraged and find their special gift to the world. The reviews of this performance were as follows: "Ethan stole the show. He's not only an exceptional musical prodigy, but he's charming and self assured. He easily established a rapport with his audience and told jokes. He had the... school students spellbound with his charisma and poise.... After a few minutes on stage, I didn't think of him as a kid but a very short adult. His adult body language is uncanny.... It was amazing to watch him play with those tiny hands, stretching to form the chords. But he does it with ease and advanced facility with style."
On March 27, 2009 and March 28, 2009, Bortnick performed at Muhammad Ali's event to help raise money in the fight against Parkinson’s disease and other charities. This event was held over two nights. Bortnick performed both nights. Bortnick, after finding out about the event, composed and wrote a song for Muhammad Ali, entitled "The Champ". After performing the first night, Ali embraced Ethan and everyone began singing "The Champ" with Ethan on stage (unplanned). Forrest Whitaker, Josh Groban, Reba McEntire, David Foster, Jordin Sparks and many others went on stage and sang this to Ali.
On April 27, 2009, Bortnick performed at a private event at the Fontainebleau Hotel backed by members of Billy Joel's band. Bortnick performed with Mark Rivera, Tommy Byrnes, Chuck Burgi, Andy Cichon, and David Rosenthal. Other performers that night included Howie Mandel and Katy Perry.
On May 18, 2009, Bortnick performed for the 18th annual Society of Singers Ella Awards, honoring Herb Alpert and Lani Hall.
On July 12, 2009, Bortnick opened for Sir Elton John, Gladys Knight and Tony Bennett. This event was to raise money for the Starkey Hearing Foundation and was hosted by Billy Crystal.
On September 13, 2009, Bortnick performed at a private dinner to help raise funds for OneXOne. In attendance were President Bill Clinton, Matt Damon, Elvis Costello and many others. At the event, President Clinton said "Maybe if I get really lucky young Ethan Bortnick will play for me another song or two", which Bortnick did.
On September 16, 2009, Bortnick performed, as the sole entertainer, for the Annual Benefit Event of American Friends of Lubavitch, one of the premier evenings on the Washington Social calendar. Attendees included Ambassador Nancy Goodman Brinker,Congressman John Lewis, Senator Joe Lieberman, Senator Arlen Specter and many others. Reviews of Bortnick's performance said "... highlight of the evening was certainly the phenomenal entertainment by... Ethan Bortnick.... There wasn’t a dry eye in the house when he dedicated "G-d Bless America"...."
On October 12, 2009, Bortnick was the headline performer at Nokia Theater at LA Live. He is the youngest performer, at 8 years old, to Headline his own show at LA Live. His almost 2 hour show was backed by members of Billy Joel's band. Bortnick performed with Mark Rivera, Tommy Byrnes, Chuck Burgi, Andy Cichon, and David Rosenthal. Over 4,000 people were in attendance. This event was sponsored by the National Association for Home Care & Hospice, and Ethan wrote a new composition for the group, which he performed, named "A Hug Song". The president of NAHC wrote a letter to Ethan with comments such as "..one of the best experiences of my life..", "your showmanship was second to none..","..could only be described as a tour de force..". The following day, as part of the NAHC events, Ethan dined with Colin Powell and a few other members of the NAHC.
On October 22, 2009, Bortnick performed for OneXOne to help raise money to help fight hunger, health issues and preserve the lives of children locally and globally. Ethan opened the show for such musical acts as Josh Groban, Santana, and Snow Patrol. During Ethan's performance, he dedicated a song he wrote, called "It's for the Kids". Others that enjoyed Ethan's performance were Charlize Theron, Jeremy Piven, Mia Hamm, Laila Ali and many more
On October 24, 2009. Bortnick opened for Josh Groban at a private event in San Francisco. Ethan performed for 45 minutes and then Josh performed.
On February 4, 2010, Bortnick opened for Jordin Sparks, Jason Derulo, Sam Moore, David Archuleta for a Super Bowl Party at Miami's Eden Roc Hotel, raising money for various children's charities.
on February 24, 2010, Bortnick performed at The Grammy Museum a solo show for students.
On April 16, 2010, Bortnick performed at the Children Mending Hearts Benefit. Joining Bortnick that evening were Ben Affleck, Five for Fighting, Aisha Tyler, Alyssa Milano and others.
On August 1, 2010, Bortnick performed live at the historic KCET studios during the pledge drive.
On November 13, 2010, Bortnick performed at the Delta Awards Ceremony for Children's Miracle Network. Ethan performed a song he wrote called "It's a Miracle".
On November 17, 2010, Bortnick performed in Sao Paulo, Brazil to a sold out crowd. Reviews were phenomenal in all Brazil media, including reviews such as "... the 9 year old piano prodigy Ethan Bortnick won the audience from the first moment, acting, playing and singing by himself.."
On November 27, 2010, Bortnick performed with Ben Folds and the Nashville Symphony to help raise funds for the Schermerhorn Symphony Center. Ben Folds said ""Yes, Ethan has perfect pitch and photographic memory, has performed with some of the worlds finest, has a repertoire of over 200 songs as well as his own compositions all at the age of nine," says Ben Folds. "But more than that I am struck by is his spirit – his natural wisdom and ability to inspire both musically and personally."
On December 9, 2010. Bortnick performed at the Haim Saban's IDF Fundraising dinner in Beverly Hills, opening for David Foster and Andrea Bocelli, with reviews that stated "But the most tender part of the night was when 9-year-old piano prodigy Ethan Bortnick took the stage to perform.."
On March 8, 2011, Bortnick performed at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas to raise money for the Remax and Children's Miracle Network Auction. He raised $105,000 in less than 10 minutes, auctioning off 3 private concerts to the highest bidders. This was a record amount for this event.
On April 2, 2011, Bortnick performed a concert for the Larry King foundation. Bortnick opened for Mary J. Blige.
On April 11, 2011, Bortnick opened the 27th National Space Foundation Symposium. It was attended by over 9,000 people in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
On May 28, 2011, Bortnick was one of the headliners of the 2011 Jacksonville Jazz Festival. He performed two, standing room only, headline shows at the festival. Other Headliners included Natalie Cole and Herbie Hancock
On August 23, 2011, Bortnick performed as the opening act for legendary songwriter and composer Marvin Hamlisch, in Montreal, Canada.
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Famous quotes containing the words live and/or performances:
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Bill Sikes: Of course I do! I live with you don’t I?”
—Vernon Harris (c. 1910)
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Since nothing ever happened. That, of course, was the miracle
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—John Ashbery (b. 1927)