The University of Tennessee at Martin Piano Ensemble spring program will take place at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, April 17, in the Blankenship Recital Hall in the Fine Arts Building.
The ensemble is dedicating its spring 2025 program to the memory of Dr. Allison Nelson Neal Loebbaka (1927-2025). She was professor emeritus of music and the founder of UTM’s Piano Ensemble over 50 years ago.
Dr. Elaine Harriss, professor of music, is the director of the Piano Ensemble. She will retire at the end of the school year after more than 50 years of piano instruction and 24 years at UT Martin.
The unusual aspect for this program will be the large groups of pianists performing at one time. It will include three pieces scored for two pianos eight hands: Bedrich Smetana’s classic “Rondo,” Camille Saint-Saens’ exciting “Danse Macabre,” and William Gillock’s delightful “Champagne Toccata.”
In addition, the group will perform Arthur Frackenpohl’s “Intro and Rag” written for four pianos, 16 hands.
This last piece is made possible by the former Community Concert Association of Union City and Obion County which recently gifted its nine-foot Steinway grand piano to the UTM Department of Music, making a total of four grand pianos available for performance.
The late Turner Kirkland of Union City gave the piano to the association in 1975.
Performers in the program include university piano students Grace Browning of Memphis, Jacob Callender of Clarksville, Thomas Holcomb of Puryear, Konami Ishikowa of Japan, Doo hee Kim of Korea, Katie Lownsdale of Union City, Timothy Odle of Trenton and Christopher Ostenson of Martin.
Area piano teachers performing include Linda Farmer of Dresden, Linda Williams and Rita Winter of Union City and Harriss.
PHOTO: Shown is Dr. Elaine Harriss, professor of music, posing for a photo in July 2023. Harriss will direct her final UTM Piano Ensemble program on Thursday, April 17.
