Just as a fine wine enhances a meal, a Steinway piano
enriches any musical performance. Since launching the All-Steinway
School Initiative in 2007, Eastern Michigan University's
Music and Dance Department has been able to acquire four
of these exceptional instruments.
 |
STEINWAY SCHOOL: James Jelasci, an EMU alumnus
(1980) and pianist, poses with the Steinway B piano
in the Alexander Music Building. This is one of four
Steinway pianos on campus. Eastern Michigan
University's
Music and Dance Department is working
to raise $2
million for its All-Steinway Initiative for
replacement
and maintenance of 84 campus pianos. |
"We have an urgent need to update our pianos," said Marsha
Rinke, communications and events coordinator for the music
and dance department. "They're used across all of our educational
programs: for classroom instruction in music theory, literature,
aural skills, voice, dance, and music appreciation; for
private lessons and practicing on all instruments and voice;
and for many performances."
Students and faculty have placed the new Steinways in
a variety of locations for use and enjoyment. One of the
pianos is located on the second floor of the Student Center,
where it can be played by students or taken into the banquet
rooms for special events. A new Steinway grand and an upright
model are available in student practice rooms at the Alexander
Music Building. Faculty can amplify their skills on the
new Steinway B in the faculty studio in Alexander.
The All-Steinway School Initiative hopes to raise $2 million
for replacement and maintenance of 84 campus pianos. They
have made some progress, but welcome any donations toward
their goal. For more information on the Steinway initiative,
please visit www.emich.edu/music/allsteinway
A Steinway will be used in many events on the music
and dance department's fall calendar, some of which are
highlighted below.
In honor of the 200th anniversary of Franz Joseph Haydn's
death, Dady Mehta, an EMU professor emeritus of
piano, will perform three of the composer's sonatas,
Sunday, Oct. 4, 4 p.m., in Pease Auditorium.
For the second year, Eastern Michigan University is hosting
the American Romanian Festival, a biannual
musical and cultural event, Sunday, Oct. 11, 7:30 p.m.,
in the Alexander Recital Hall. Featured artists include
the American Romanian Festival Quartet with violinist Kyoko
Kashiwagi, Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) violinist Marian
Tanau, EMU faculty violinist Eva Stern and Paul Wingert,
a DSO cellist.
As part of EMU's parents weekend, the University Choir
and Chamber Choir will present Sing Me to Heaven,
Friday, Oct. 23, 8 p.m., Pease Auditorium. Under the direction
of Trey Jacobs, the choirs will perform choral selections
by Mendelssohn and Tchesnokov, as well as choral music
from the Hindu, Native American and Hebrew traditions.
 |
HAUNTED ORGAN: Kevin Miller, dressed in
a coat
and powdered wig, plays the organ while
he
directs a cadre of ghostly ghouls during last
year's Halloween Concert. This year's concert is
scheduled Friday, Oct. 30, 7 p.m., in Pease
Auditorium. |
For sheer, spooky fun, Kevin Miller and the EMU Symphony
Orchestra will entertain their audience with a surprise-filled Halloween
Concert, Friday, Oct. 30, 7 p.m., in Pease Auditorium.
The audience is invited to come in costume. Admission is
$10 for adults; $8 for students and seniors; and $6 for
children 12 and under.
Music, fun and pageantry collide for BANDORAMA ,
as the Wind Symphony, Symphonic Band and Marching Band
take the stage, Saturday, Nov. 21, 7 p.m., in Pease Auditorium.
Mary Schneider, director of bands, and John Zastoupil,
associate director of bands, will lead the event. Admission
is $10 for adults; $8 for students and seniors; and $6
for children under 12.
For dance enthusiasts, the Annual Ballet with
Symphony Orchestra will feature dance majors,
directed by Sherry Jerome, and the Symphony Orchestra,
directed by Kevin Miller, performing Prokofiev's classical
ballet "Cinderella", Friday Dec. 4, 7 p.m., in Pease
Auditorium. Admission: $10 adults; $8 students and seniors;
and $6 children under 12.
For a complete listing of events, visit www.emich.edu/music/events/.
All events are free unless otherwise noted. Tickets can
be purchased in advance at the EMU Convocation Center,
Quirk Theatre Box Office or online at www.emich.edu/convocation.
