Piano Music from Four Continents

Keane Southard, composer, pianist, and music director of the First Congregational Church in Walpole, will perform a recital entitled “Piano Music from Four Continents” on Saturday, May 12, 7pm at the First Congregational Church UCC in Springfield. Admission is free. Video: Keane plays Odeon for Piano by Brazilian composer Ernesto Nazareth.

A repeat perfomance takes place Sunday, May 13, 1 PM at the First Congregational Church in Walpole, NH (15 Washington St).

The program will include piano works from India, Brazil, England, and the USA by composers John Foulds, Camargo Guarnieri, and Southard himself. Admission is free to both performances although donations will be accepted.

As a pianist, Southard is committed to the performance of unknown and underperformed works and composers. “The piano repertoire is so vast,” says Southard, “that there are many wonderful pieces that haven't made it into the standard repertoire yet deserve to be more well known. For the audience, it is a bit of a risk coming to a recital where you may not recognize the pieces or composers, but my hope is that people will walk out of the concert wanting to further explore these composers.” Additionally, Southard's recitals include spoken insights, personal connections, and stories about the music and their composers to create an engaging and informal concert experience.

Southard has performed as a solo pianist across the country, including at conferences and festivals in Colorado, Ohio, Illinois, and Missouri and as an accompanist with the Springfield Community Chorus and the Bennington County Choral Society. He has performed as a soloist in his own “Classical” Concerto with the Sounds of Stow Orchestra, and in his Concertino with the Northeastern State University Wind Ensemble. As a composer, he has been the recipient of many awards, including the 2016 Colorado State Music Teachers Association Commissioned Composer Award, and 3rd prize in the Belvedere Festival Composition Contest, and will have his Appalachian Trail Symphony: New England premiered by the Sage City Symphony in Bennington, VT on May 20th. He was a Fulbright scholar studying music education in Brazil, has taught at Bennington College, and holds Masters degree in composition from the University of Colorado-Boulder. He will begin work on his PhD in music composition at the Eastman School of Music in the fall.

For more information about Keane Southard, please visit his website at keanesouthard.instantencore.com.

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