Piano Around the World Brings Multi-Media Multi-Cultural Event to USU Campus

Piano Around the World is Friday, Oct. 8, at 7:30 p.m. in the Russell/Wanlass Performance Hall on the Utah State University Campus. Guests are encouraged to arrive at 6 p.m. and grab dinner before the concert starts.

“Henry Wadsworth Longfellow said, ‘Music is the universal language of mankind,’” Kevin Olson, piano program coordinator in the Caine College of the Arts at USU, said. “This project began with this aim in mind, challenging all the piano majors to self-select a piece of music from an assigned country, many of which continue to be neglected in mainstream music concerts.”

Over the summer, Olson tasked students with working on this repertoire and then in the fall, connecting with an international student from the country of their piano piece who could introduce themselves and their homeland to the audience before each performance.

The night of the event boasts free food from Off Premise Catering, including street tacos (chicken and veggie options), chips and salsa, and mini churros with caramel sauce.

Some of the countries represented in the concert include China, Poland, Spain, Norway and more.

Olson hopes that audience members will enjoy this celebration of piano music from around the world.

“I would like to extend a special thanks to Cindy Dewey, music department head; Rachel Nardo, dean of the Caine College of the Arts and Janis Boettinger and Celestyn Lendor of the Office of Global Engagement for their enthusiastic support of this project,” Olson said.

Tickets for Piano Around the World are $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and non-CCA USU faculty and staff, and free for USU students, grades 3-12, and CCA faculty and staff. Purchase tickets at the CCA Box Office from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in room L101 of the Chase Fine Arts Center on the USU Campus, by calling 435-797-8022, or by visiting cca.usu.edu.