It’s hard to imagine a closer musical collaboration than two pianists at the same keyboard.
A pair of pianists on the bench requires expert coordination, sensitivity to each other and the physical technique of a dancer.
See for yourself at 8 tonight when Molly Wheeler, a Portland-based pianist who has performed solo in Snohomish County, and her musical partner, Rhonda Ringering, give a concert in Marysville.
The all-French program includes “Rhapsodie Espagnole,” a four-movement work that Maurice Ravel wrote for orchestra or for two pianos, plus “Petite Suite” by Claude Debussy and “Dolly Suite” by Gabriel Faure.
It’s a style of playing that calls for close collaboration, Wheeler said.
“It’s actually really thrilling, breathing together, the choreography together, running into each but creating a unified sound,” she said.
In addition to being musically rewarding, the result can be visually interesting as the players’ hands move over and under each other.
A lot of music was written for piano duet, Wheeler said. She is a teacher who holds advanced degrees in performance, has studied in France and has performed four-hand duets around the Pacific Northwest for nearly a decade. Ringering, a frequent soloist in the Portland area, is a staff accompanist and an adjunct professor of piano at Linfield College in McMinnville, Ore.
The concert takes place in a new Marysville venue. Eastgate Garden Chapel is a wedding chapel converted from an old church and operated by Shuree Hoffman, herself a musician and a friend of Wheeler’s.
A reception will follow the concert, with wine tasting by Marysville’s Willis Hall Winery and hors d’oeuvres by Venetti’s catering. Tickets are available at the door.
| Piano Duets: Pianists Molly Wheeler and Rhonda Ringering perform at 8 tonight at the Eastgate Garden Chapel, 1608 10th St., Marysville. Tickets cost $10 to $15 and are available at the door.
Bella Trio: A Port Gardner Bay Chamber Music Society concert at 3 p.m. Sunday at the Dorothy Jayne Studio, 2931 Bond St., Everett. Tickets cost $8 to $10 and are available at the door or in advance by calling 425-353-7311. |
Bella Trio: The Port Gardner Bay Chamber Music Society hosts a concert by the string ensemble Bella Trio at 3 p.m. Sunday in Everett.
The artists are three women who have been performing together for more than three years and are frequent performers in the Puget Sound region as a solo ensemble and in collaborations with other chamber musicians.
Sunday’s concert features music by Ravel, Debussy, Shostakovich and Dvorak, among others, all drawn from the string repertoire. The players are Erica Brewer, violin; Nicola Shangrow, violin; and Jennifer Ellison, cello.
The concert begins at 3 p.m. at the Dorothy Jayne Studio.
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