Hope College will feature jazz pianist Fred Hersch on Wednesday, Feb. 24, at 7:30 p.m. in Wichers Auditorium of Nykerk Hall of Music.

The public is invited. Admission is free.

Pianist and composer Fred Hersch has been called "one of the small handful of brilliant musicians of his generation" by "Downbeat" and has earned a place among the foremost jazz artists in the world today. From the late '70s onward as a sideman to jazz legends including Joe Henderson, Art Farmer and Stan Getz, he has solidified a reputation as a versatile master of jazz piano, as well as a relentlessly probing composer and conceptualist.

Hersch is widely recognized for his ability to steadfastly create a unique body of original works while reinventing the standard jazz repertoire - investing time-tested classics with keen insight, fresh ideas and extraordinary technique. Whether unaccompanied, in duo, working with trios and quintets, Hersch has explored the jazz tradition to its fullest even as he opens new and undiscovered doors.

Hersch's numerous accomplishments include a 2003 Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship for composition, two Grammy nominations for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance and a Grammy nomination for Best Instrumental Composition. He has appeared on more than 100 recordings, including more than two-dozen albums as bandleader/solo pianist.

Nykerk Hall of Music is located in the central Hope campus at the former 127 E. 12th St., between College and Columbia avenues.