LAKELAND, Fla. (March 1, 2007) — Florida Southern College and the Festival of Fine Arts welcome pianist Paavali Jumppanen on March 15. The concert takes place at 7:30 p.m. in Branscomb Auditorium on the Florida Southern campus.

This outstanding young Finnish-born pianist enjoys a formidable career as both a solo and ensemble artist. The New York Times described his playing as showing “immense power and an extraordinary range of colors.” Jumppanen won First Prize in the 2000 Young Concert Artists International Auditions as well as the Bruce Hungerford Memorial Prize, the Maurice M. Clairmont Piano Prize, the Joseph Kalichstein Piano Prize, and the Pennsylvania Presenters' Prize, a thirteen-concert tour throughout the state. Recent tours include appearances in France, Italy, Germany and Norway.

Tickets are $25. FSC students are admitted free of charge; non-FSC students admitted at half price. For ticket information, please contact the Branscomb Auditorium box office at (863) 680-4296. 

About Florida Southern College
Founded in 1885, Florida Southern College is a private, comprehensive, United Methodist college with a liberal arts core. The college maintains its commitment to academic excellence through 38 undergraduate majors and distinctive graduate programs in business administration, education, and nursing. Florida Southern has a 13:1 student/faculty ratio, provides strong student/faculty mentorship programs, boasts 25 NCAA Division II national championships, and is ranked by U. S. News and World Report as one of the top ten Southern Comprehensive Colleges-Bachelor’s institutions and by the Princeton Review as a “Best Southeastern College.” Located on scenic Lake Hollingsworth, Florida Southern is the home of the world’s largest single-site collection of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture.