The Kent Keyboard Series opens its 2017-2018 season with pianist Cahill Smith on Sun., Oct. 15 at 5 p.m. in Ludwig Recital Hall. Now in its 16th year, the Kent Keyboard Series has hosted an impressive roster of guest pianists from around the country including Eduardus Halim, Peter Takács and Sandra Shapiro, along with Kent State faculty members Jerry Wong and Donna Lee. Tickets can be purchased in advance by calling 330-672-2787 (ARTS) or at www.kent.edu/music/buy-tickets. $15, adults; $13, seniors and Kent State University faculty; $10, groups of 10 or more; $8 non-Kent State students and Kent State student ineligible for the Fee for Free; FREE for full-time Kent Campus undergraduates and those under 18. Ludwig Recital Hall is at 1325 Theatre Drive in the Center for the Performing Arts. Ample free parking is available.
In his first appearance at Kent State University, Cahill Smith will open with Beethoven’s complex Sonata No. 15 in D major, Op. 28. Audience members will then be treated to the second book of Debussy’s imagination-stirring “Images.” After a brief intermission, Smith will present Russian composer and pianist Nikolai Medtner’s “Forgotten Melodies” Book 2, Op. 39. A younger contemporary of Sergei Rachmaninoff and Alexander Scriabin, Medtner has rapidly become known as one of the most significant composers of Russian piano music.
Born and raised in rural Alabama, Cahill Smith began playing piano at age 10 and six years later he made his orchestral debut. He has since gone on to give recitals in major venues in the United States and abroad, including three programs at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall. In addition to his extensive solo recital work, Cahill has been featured as a concerto soloist with orchestras, both in the United State and abroad. He has also become a leading champion of Russian composer Nikolai Medtner’s music, having performed an all-Medtner program for his 2013 Carnegie Hall debut. Of a later performance at Carnegie Hall in 2015, the New York Concert Review remarked that Cahill revealed “every twist and turn…with beautiful shimmering colors” while performing the music of Medtner.
Cahill, a Yamaha Artist, completed his Doctorate of Musical Arts at the Eastman School of Music in 2014, where he served as the teaching assistant to Natalya Antonova. At Eastman, Cahill was the inaugural recipient of the Douglas Lowry award for excellence in degree recital performance. Currently, he serves on the piano faculty at Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee, where he also serves as Artistic Director for the Lee University International Piano Festival and Competition in the summer. He is an active lecturer, competition juror and masterclass presenter.
Tickets will also be available at the door the day of the performance.
2017-2018 Season
Sun., Nov. 12, 5 p.m. featuring Jerry Wong, Kent State faculty & Steinway Artist
Sun., Jan. 28, 5 p.m. featuring Read Gainsford, guest artist
Sun., Feb 25, 5 p.m. featuring Donna Lee, Kent State faculty & Steinway Artist
Sun., April 22, 5 p.m. featuring Logan Skelton, guest artist
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