Celebrating our new Piano in Concert

Manistee, MI, Oct. 10, 18 – The Ramsdell Regional Center for the Arts will celebrate the gift of a new grand piano by offering a concert “Meet Our New Piano” on Thursday, October 18th at 7:30 pm. Donated by a generous lover of the arts and music, this GX-3 Kawaii, 6’2” piano is an important addition to an already-celebrated European opera-house auditorium located within the Ramsdell at 101 Maple Street, Manistee.

Kawaii, an international and award-winning manufacturer, located in Hamamatsu, Japan, has been building quality pianos since 1927 and prides itself on producing some of the finest musical instruments in the world. Each piano is handmade, taking anywhere from six months to two years to produce. Literally hundreds of people will work on a single piano during this time, from the seasoning of the soundboard wood to the construction of the thousands of individual elements in the action. This particular model is comprised of over 10,000 precision parts, including wood, metal, and composites like carbon fiber. Kawai was the first manufacturer to use carbon fiber in its pianos, making them lighter, stronger, and 25 percent faster in the action than similar models and protecting the piano from much of the shrinking and swelling that wooden parts go through in the northern Michigan climate.

Thursday’s concert with feature the new Piano as the Star, along with Manistee’s own Carrie Selbee, an accomplished performer and accompanist. Amanda Feyen, choir director and elementary music teacher for MAPS, will be singing Broadway. Peter Bergin, a celebrated Michigan ragtime artist, will play works of Joplin and Blake. For the classical portion, Chas Helge, a native of Manistee will be playing Frescobaldi and Mendelssohn on cello with superb piano accompaniment, and Xavier Verna, Executive Director of the RRCA, will play a Piazzolla-inspired tango on marimba, again with intricate piano accompaniment. Andy Buelow, Executive Director of the West MI Symphony in Muskegon, will perform jazz, and Derrick Hall, a Traverse City church music director, will play and sing gospel and blues.

Tickets are available at MyNorthTickets.com or by calling 1-800-836-0717.