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Piano students will tour through Texas

By John Andert '10
October 3, 2008

As most St. Olaf College students start packing their suitcases to either go home for fall break or take mini-vacations from studying, 10 gifted piano students are preparing for a tour to Texas. The students will leave Oct. 10 for a five-day tour that will include stops in Waco, Dallas and Fort Worth. There will be a preview concert Oct. 6 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Northfield at 7:30 p.m. and a home concert Oct. 9 in the Christiansen Hall of Music Urness Recital Hall at 8:15 p.m. Both events are free and open to the public.

Piano
For the past two years, St. Olaf piano students have been giving themed concerts that have developed into a concert-like series. Two years ago, students performed a concert of Claude Debussy preludes, incorporating French visual art, poetry and cuisine. Last year, they performed a wide selection of pieces that featured female composers. Composers of note included Clara Wieck-Schumann, Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel, and Amy Beach.

This year's Texas Piano Tour will feature music from Scandinavian countries including Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland and Finland. Music will include both familiar and lesser-known composers such as Edvard Grieg, Jean Sibelius and Einojuhani Rautavaara. "Nordic literature was selected because it showcases the heritage of the college while also offering a unique programming alternative to the standard concert repertoire. Moreover, since some of the concerts are held specifically with piano teachers in mind, we see an educational opportunity to highlight a treasure trove of piano literature that is often overlooked," says St. Olaf Assistant Professor of Piano Christopher Atzinger, one of the coordinators for this year's piano tour.

Leanne Barck '10, a pianist and bass clarinetist in the St. Olaf Band, has played in both of the previous piano tours. "I'm looking forward to connecting with the St. Olaf piano students. Since piano playing is based mostly on the individual, it is an amazing opportunity for us to come together and develop a sense of comradery in the piano department," she says.

"Doing these type of concerts really helps broaden my repertoire and uncovers a lot of composers that I may have not even considered playing," says James Coghlin '09, a piano performance major. "Also, traveling is a large part of a pianist's life, so it will give me a good taste of what I would like to be doing for the rest of my life."

This will the be the first year that St. Olaf piano students will take their annual tour outside of Minnesota. "We're touring Texas because we see it as a valuable place to showcase some lesser-known Nordic literature while building relationships with schools, churches and music organizations," Atzinger says. "Success is contagious, so this tour will give others a chance to see that the piano program at St. Olaf is solid, beneficial and on the rise."

Contact Kari VanDerVeen at 507-786-3970 or vanderve@stolaf.edu.