Piano festival includes free YSU concerts

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

A piano festival, jointly presented by the Dana School of Music at Youngstown State University and the University of Akron’s Kulas Concert Series, will feature seven concerts and recitals, beginning today.

Guest and faculty artists Zahari Metchkov, Joachim Reinhuber, Caroline Oltmanns, James Wilding and Sean Baran will perform a variety of piano and harpsichord selections throughout the week.

Programs at Youngstown State University are free and open to the public. Program fees at the University of Akron are noted.

“I am thrilled to offer this brand new piano festival to our communities of Youngstown and Akron,” said Oltmanns, a piano professor at the Dana. “The concerts, master classes and recitals are all dedicated to the beauty of keyboard instruments, to the sounds they are able to project, and the stories we musicians get to tell through them. Come out, be part of it, get inspired and enjoy.”

The collaboration between the University of Akron and Youngstown State University is a reflection of the depth of talent in Northeast Ohio, said Oltmanns.

For information, call 330-941-2307.

Here is the schedule:

TODAY

3 p.m., Guzzetta Recital Hall, UA: Metchkov and Reinhuber join composer/pianist Wilding and Steinway artist Oltmanns in an afternoon of piano and harpsichord music for two, four and eight hands. $12 ($6 non-UA students).

MONDAY

12-12:55 p.m., Guzzetta Recital Hall, UA: Harpsichord and tuning master class with Rex Roseman. Free.

4-6 p.m., Bliss Recital Hall, YSU: Master class in collaboration with the Youngstown Music Teachers Association with Metchkov and Reinhuber. Free.

7:30 p.m., Bliss Recital Hall, YSU: Guest artist recital with Sean Baran, piano. Free.

TUESDAY

1-2 p.m., Guzzetta Recital Hall, UA: Master class with Metchkov and Reinhuber. Free.

7:30 p.m., Bliss Recital Hall, YSU: Metchkov and Reinhuber will be joined by Wilding and Oltmanns in a concert of piano and harpsichord music for two, four and eight hands. Free.

WEDNESDAY

12:15 p.m., Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown: Festival participants and Dana students in a concert of music for piano. Free.