Four Pianists, Eight Hands: The Piano Collective
On Sunday, October 26 at 2:30 pm, the UPEI Music Department will play host to a 'triple header' at the Dr. Steel Recital Hall. The 'Piano Collective,' a group of four pianists playing eight-hand music on two pianos will make their debut in a performance featuring beloved music of J.S. Bach, Mozart, Glazunov, Mendelssohn, Moszkowski, and Bizet.
The occasion also marks a celebration for Professor Emerita Dr. Frances Gray who officially retired this year after serving 45 years as Professor of Piano and Theory in UPEI's Music Department. As a tribute to her years of contribution, the afternoon will launch a music scholarship for outstanding student performers in the Music Department.
Frances Gray is delighted to have formed this 'Piano Collective' with three alumnae of UPEI who all studied piano with her in the Music Department. It could be that this is the first full concert of its kind in PEI, which explores repertoire for Piano Eight-Hands. This particular instrumentation was a favourite means, in earlier times, of allowing composers to hear their newly written symphonic works without the expense of hiring orchestral musicians to read through their scores.
Gray, in addition to her solo performances, has always been delighted to play chamber music with other instrumentalists but has found it challenging and rewarding to put this medium of four pianists together to explore another facet of collaborative music making.
Other musicians joining Gray in the 'Piano Collective' include Stephanie Cole, a private piano teacher from Stratford, and currently the Director of Music Ministries at Winsloe United Church. Cole also works as a freelance collaborative pianist. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree from UPEI, as well as a Master's degree in Piano Performance & Pedagogy from
Memorial University. Cole also performs as a trombonist with the PEI Symphony Orchestra.
Morgan Saulnier will also be performing in the collective. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree from UPEI and a Master's degree in Flute Performance from Memorial University. Saulnier maintains an active role in the music scene on PEI, and is in high demand as a flute and piano educator, soloist, and collaborator. She is Principal Flute of the PEI Symphony Orchestra and holds sessional appointments at UPEI and Holland College. She currently resides in Charlottetown with her husband and daughter, and owns a boutique on Victoria Row.
Jacqueline Sorensen Young, BMus (‘92), a freelance musician who operates a successful private teaching studio in downtown Charlottetown, will be the final member of the collective. She is a Piano Examiner for The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, Director of Music at St. Mark's Presbyterian Church in Charlottetown, and is in demand as a collaborative pianist and music
festival adjudicator. She taught as a sessional lecturer in the Music Department at UPEI from 1994 to 2013.
Following the performance, there will be a short celebration recognizing Dr. Gray's retirement and an opportunity for those who wish to contribute to the scholarship in Dr. Gray's name for outstanding student performers at the UPEI Music Department.
Tickets are $15/$10 for students and seniors and are available at the door, online at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/890043, or in advance by calling (902) 566-0507.
