Dual Pianos Strike a Chord with Piano Ensemble on February 23
GREENWOOD, S.C. – Scores of music lie scattered across the top of a pair of baby grand pianos as fingers dance across the ivory keys during a concert rehearsal for students studying music at Lander University. The strains of a familiar Bach hymn lilt against the walls of this small classroom, which is lined with literature on musical composers throughout the ages.
Taught by Lander University Professor Emeritus of Music Dr. Anthony Lenti, and Associate Professor of Music Dr. Robert Kelley, these music students are preparing for an upcoming Piano Ensemble recital at Lander University.
The talented understudies will perform with their instructors and other pianists on stage at the Abney Cultural Center Auditorium on the evening of Thursday, February 23. The audience can expect to hear a wide variety of styles including classical, romantic, popular, modern and contemporary. “From Bach to the Wizard of Oz – this is a concert with something for every listener” commented Dr. Lenti.
The program includes:
- classical works by German composers Johann Sebastian Bach, Heinrich Wohlfahrt, Carl Maria von Weber and Anton Diabelli;
- a Russian folk tune and other Romantic-style pieces including Robert Volkmann’s Musical Picturebook, Op.11; Fritz Spindler’s Immortelles, Op. 90; and Melodious Pieces, Op. 174 by Cornelius Gurlitt;
- a lively performance of the European miniature Foxtrott by Kurt Herrmann, and Ragtime by Mátyás Seiber – both pieces inspired by American popular styles;
- and Dr. Lenti’s transcription of Over the Rainbow, a classic popular song by Harold Arlen & E.Y. Harburg.
The performance concludes with contrasting works of the mid-20th century, a sparkling work of widely contrasting moods by Francis Poulenc and a rollicking work by the noted Czech composer, Bedřich Smetana.
The Piano Ensemble concert showcases the talents of Lander students Aleksa Cupic, Ashley Hampton, Raleigh Kennedy, Marcus McPherson, Destinee Simpson, Savannah Wideman and their instructors, Dr. Lenti and Dr. Kelly. Guest pianists are Lander alumni, Kelsie Detweiler and Terri Burgin with three of their students, Megan Hershberger, Abby Mudd, and Sunshine Perkins.
The community is invited to attend this free performance. The program begins at 8 p.m. and is FALS-approved for Lander students seeking credit.
Students at Lander University rehearse for a Piano Ensemble concert that is free and open to the community. The February 23rd performance begins at 8 p.m. in the auditorium of the Josephine B. Abney Cultural Center. From the left are Marcus McPherson, of Norwalk, CT; Savannah Wideman, of Ninety Six; Destinee Simpson, of Anderson; and Raleigh Kennedy, of Blacksburg, S.C.
Marcus McPherson, of Norwalk, CT, on the left, rehearses a piano duet with Lander University Professor Emeritus of Music Dr. Anthony Lenti in preparation for a Piano Ensemble concert on February 23rd. The free performance begins at 8 p.m. in the auditorium of the Josephine B. Abney Cultural Center and is open to the community.
Rehearsing for an upcoming Piano Ensemble concert, Aleksa Cupic, of Belgrade Serbia, on the left, performs a piano duet with Lander University Associate Professor of Music Dr. Robert Kelley. The February 23rd piano ensemble begins at 8 p.m. in the auditorium of the Josephine B. Abney Cultural Center and is open to the community.
Rehearsing for an upcoming Piano Ensemble concert, Ashley Hampton, of Anderson, on the left, performs a piano duet with Lander University Associate Professor of Music Dr. Robert Kelley. The February 23rd piano ensemble begins at 8 p.m. in the auditorium of the Josephine B. Abney Cultural Center and is open to the community.
