Students and faculty team up for “Piano Riot” performance

The Department of Music at SUNY New Paltz presents “Piano Riot: Music for Four and Six Hands,” on Tuesday, Nov. 11, at 8  p.m. in the Julien J. Studley Theatre on the New Paltz campus.

The evening’s festivities include music by New Paltz piano professors Alex Peh, Sylvia Buccelli and Ruthanne Schempf (pictured at right), as well as New Paltz piano majors. Performers will showcase pieces, for amplified piano, exploring the full range of extended pianistic techniques that require the pianists to play on the keys as well as inside the piano on the strings, soundboard and metal frame. Techniques such as string plucks, scrapes, mutes, and objects placed on the strings create a mesmerizing soundscape of cosmic noises meant to evoke the infinite mystery of space.

Tickets may be purchased at the door with cash, check or credit card. Cost is $8 for general admission, $6 for seniors (62+), and $3 for faculty, staff and students. For more information call (845) 257-2700.