SEMO to celebrate World Piano Day

It doesn't hurt to celebrate the piano and everything around it. So said German pianist and composer Nils Frahm, who founded World Piano Day in 2015. In that spirit, and in honor of the 150th anniversary of Southeast Missouri State University, SEMO's Department of Music is hosting a piano concert Wednesday, March 29, at the River Campus in Cape Girardeau.

According to the university's website, the concert is free to all and will begin at 12:30 p.m. in the Shuck Recital Hall in the Seminary Building at the River Campus. There will be a small reception after the performance.

Performers will include Dr. Yuko Kato, a professor at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale; Joshua Harvey and Arlo Ehly of the Dobbins Conservatory of Theatre and Dance; and Kevin Hampton, chairman and professor of SEMO's Department of Music. The concert will feature works for piano four-hands and duo piano with selections drawn from musical theatre, ragtime, and classical genres spanning from Johann Christian Bach to William Bolcom.

World Piano Day falls on the 88th day of the year in reference to the 88 keys on a standard piano.