Arden Piano Concert

Jeff Green | Oct 07, 2010

In addition to pianist Shari Tallon, Mezzo Soprano Martine Buissart, and featured pianist Michael Costello, there will be another star making its debut in Arden at the fifth annual Arden and the Arts Celebration next Saturday, October 16: a newly-acquired baby grand piano.

The concert series has always had the acquisition of a grand piano as one of its goals, and earlier this year, Arden-based piano tuner Larry Lightstone, who founded the concert series, managed to secure the donation of a piano to the Kennebec Hall by an anonymous donor.

“The new piano is a great improvement, and it is really ideal that it is a baby grand because the hall is used for so many purposes and a full-sized grand would end up being in the way too often,” said Janet Gutowski, who has been organizing the concert series with Lightstone on behalf of the Central Frontenac Economic Development committee.

The piano will be the focus of the concert

Michael Costello of Carleton Place is known as an interpreter of the music of Frederic Chopin. “I love Chopin’s music,” he says on his website, “Chopin’s rich harmony and expressive melody create a magical quality that inspires me to express my innermost thoughts and feelings. Chopin’s compositions voice a spirit of emotion, patriotism, turmoil, and dreaming that I hope connects with the listener as it does with me.”

During the opening half of the concert, Costello will be playing works by a number of composers, including Chopin’s Fantasie, Claire de Lune by Debussy, and Turkish March by Mozart.

After the intermission, pianist and composer Shari Tallon, who is now living in Sharbot Lake and who has played at Arden and the Arts before, will play two of her own compositions, Everlast in D minor and Floating in A minor. She describes her pieces as a musical journey of melodies, rhythms, and improvisations.

Mezzo Soprano Martine Buissart, a new resident of Harlowe, will follow Shari Tallon, singing songs from Gershwin and others.

The final piece in the concert will be Chopin’s Heroic Polonaise in Aь Major, performed by Michael Costello

Admission is $15, and includes wine and cheese, (all proceeds will go for upgrades to the Baby Grand). The concert starts at 7:00 pm.

The evening will also feature a special tribute to Helen Praskey, the Director of the Arden Glee club, who has been a great force for music in Arden and the surrounding area for many years.