By Daniel Buckwalter
Four stately concert pianos on a stage with 22 pianists playing snippets of selections ranging from Sergei Rachmaninoff to Bedrich Smetema and others.
It had all the looks of a possibly cumbersome affair, but somehow — and with a particular tip of the cap to the stage crew headed by Thor Mikesell — everything came together splendidly on Feb. 5 at the University of Oregon’s Beall Hall for the Keyboard Area Showcase, featuring faculty and students from the UO’s School of Music and Dance.
And that despite the fact that pianos and benches had to be moved after every selection to accommodate four-hand and eight-hand pieces, and even a 16-hand rendition of Mighty Oregon, arranged by UO grad Steven James.
Yet Mikesell and his crew of two student helpers (Andrew and Will) expertly handled the behemoths as if gently tugging ocean liners to port. Aside from a missing bench at the end for the 16-hand performance (quickly found), there were no mishaps along the way.
And their work paved the way for wondrous music — glittering keyboard performances that evoked nightclub vibes, waltzes, elegant romances, and marches.
The star among the students was Helen Nebeker, a graduate student who has previously studied at the Manhattan School of Music and the Cleveland Institute of Music.
Remarkable for her steady composure and lightning-quick fingers, she also was the most expressive of the student pianists, and I hope to hear her again soon.
Nebeker was joined on stage for the 16-hand Mighty Oregon by Corinna Lobscheid, Bella Kwong, Kiketa Istratov, Alfie Ong, Armir Avsker, Marlene Fernandez and Xuan Liu.
That was just a sample of the people at work for the Keyboard Area Showcase, which was appreciated by a good-size audience at Beall Concert Hall.
I urge more people to support the music offered to the public by students and faculty at the UO School of Music and Dance, at every opportunity.
