Join us for an afternoon of musical celebration featuring the entire Bob Cole Conservatory piano faculty, joined by award-winning alumni and students performing memorable classics to benefit the Keyboard Studies program. Original works and arrangements for one to five pianos (100 fingers!). Reception to follow.
A spring tradition at the Bob Cole Conservatory, the Multi-Piano Extravaganza continues to delight its audience in an afternoon of musical celebration. The entire piano faculty performs such tuneful favorites as Bernstein’s Candide Overture and Dvořák’s Slavonic Dance for up to 16 hands. All proceeds from this event will benefit the Keyboard Foundation which provides scholarships for talented piano students.
“Every time we do this, people come to enjoy an afternoon of collaborative music making when the entire piano faculty gets together,” said Chou, a member of the university since 2003. “It is rare to have six faculty members perform together. We’re excited about a performance before an appreciative audience.”
The funds raised by the performance will support the conservatory’s keyboard studies program.
“There are about 30 undergraduate and graduate piano performance majors who are a dedicated bunch and among the hardest-working students on campus,” Chou said. “To highlight student achievement, student performers always are mixed in with the faculty performers…”
One of the biggest challenges of the extravaganza is moving multiple pianos into the Daniel Recital Hall. “We have to juggle the pianos that move on wheels with those that don’t,” Chou explained. “Those must have their legs removed so they can be taken away. We can’t keep them there for very long, either. But even more difficult is arranging rehearsal for all the performing faculty members. We’re all professional performers. We all know how to prepare our parts ahead of time. But the logistics of getting faculty members together can be difficult. We dedicate ourselves to making this commitment.”
But there are advantages to extravaganzas too, one being performances like these make the faculty more cohesive.
“It is easy for individual faculty members to retreat to their separate corners and hide there,” said Chou. “But to interact in such an intimate way professionally, sharing one instrument and one pedal, makes for close proximity. The piano is one of only a very few instruments where there can be more than one player.”
The conservatory has the necessary experience with group performances.
“We’ve gotten the hang of trying to get a multi-piano work together in a short period of time,” said Chou. “Luckily, we have a piano lab with a dozen electronic keyboards. It may not be the same configuration or sound but it helps. It’s always a festive celebration. Every year, we work hard to come up with different ideas and surprises.”
