Play Music? Spread Joy!

          If you are visiting this page, I am sure you have a special heart for music, and I invite you to partner with me in “Play Music? Spread Joy!” Project.  I am a Piano Professor at Grand Valley State University, where I have had a privilege to work with talented students since 2015.  As a performer and college professor, I have come to realize that my job responsibilities do not end in classrooms, studios, and even on concert stages, but must extend to places where live music is not frequently heard.  The joy of music is to be shared by a greater community!
          Through “Play Music? Spread Joy!” Project, I will be playing recitals of piano music at various places free of charge.  Recital programs and lengths will vary according to the host’s and audience’s requests and tastes.
          I believe (and I hope you will agree) that music not only enriches our lives, but it is essential to our very existence!  We appreciate the power of sound and rhythm.  We appreciate the value of creativity and artistic expressions.  We are not afraid of feeling emotions because we can embrace the positive ones and transcendent the negative ones through the arts.  Being sensitive, we also allow ourselves to learn to empathize with others.  
          If you are interested in partnering with the project, please read the details of the project on this page and get in touch with me!

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Place, Date, and Instrument

The recital/concert can take place anywhere – your home, school auditorium, church, retirement home, etc., as long as there is a working grand piano!

The first phase of this project is April-May, 2017. 

Concert Program 

The length of the recital and the program of the recital can vary according to the host’s request for the particular audience.  As a host, you know your prospective audience the best – and it would be great to work with you on designing the program.  If you have piano students and would like to have them participate in designing the program, I can provide you with musical selections for them to choose from.  If you’d rather have me design a program and present it as is, I would be happy to.  You and I can discuss various options together.​

Optional Presentation for Schools/Studios

For those who would like to connect classical music to classroom materials for students, I have created a sample program in which I will be performing pieces by Beethoven and Rachmaninoff and referring to French Revolution, Russian Revolution, and Cold War. The presentation material, titled "Music and the World We Live In" can be accessed HERE.  

Audience's Thoughts about Music

Since it is presented free of charge, I would appreciate your considering this request:  I would like to be allowed to collect audience’s thoughts about music - especially live music.  It could be a response from this particular concert or anything from the past.  It could be done through various mediums including emails, hand-written cards, drawings.  If possible, I would also like to video-record conversations with audience members after the concert - these clips can be very short.  I am planning on presenting these materials I collect throughout this project as a video clip at my next recital at GVSU, which will take place in Fall 2017. ​​

Interested? 

If this is something that you are interested in, contact me at 616-331-2571 or [email protected].  The first phase of this project will be April-May in 2017.  If you are unable to host a concert during this time, but would like to be updated for a later time, also let me know. 

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Musical Samples

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Repertoire for Project Phase I (April-May 2017)

Repertoire for the recital can be chosen from the following:
(The suggested length of the recital is between 30 minutes and 1 hour, and I would be happy to help design the program.)

J. S. Bach  -  Prelude in C major, WTC I
Beethoven  -  32 Variations, WoO 80
​Schubert  -  Sonata in B major, D. 575  (all or individual movements)
Chopin  -  Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2
Schumann  -  Davidsbündlertäze, Op. 6, Book I, #s 1-4 (all or individual pieces)
Liszt  -  Sonata in B minor
Rachmaninoff  -  Etude in E-flat minor, Op. 33 No. 6
Rachmaninoff  -  Preludes, Op. 23 No. 2, 5, and 7 (all or individual pieces)

​and
possible collaboration with GVSU piano students on additional solos and duets