Jody Graves, professor of piano performance studies and music graduate program director at Eastern Washington University, is the next featured guest artist of the 2024–2025 season of Drake University’s Keys to Excellence piano series on Feb. 9 and 10 in Sheslow Auditorium on Drake’s campus. Admission to both events is free.
PRESENTATION: Sunday, Feb. 9, at 4 p.m. in Sheslow Auditorium. Professor Graves will offer a workshop entitled “The Heart of Performance©.” The event is eloquently described in her own words: “This workshop includes discussion on the pathway to successful performance, and how to foster that within ourselves as performers, and for our students. The presentation includes interactive discussion, visual and audio illustrations, and hand-out. Participants are invited to bring their questions and stories about performance as we explore the topic that seems to be the most elusive, and at times, the most mysterious. Performance is the result of our process, and clarity of intention within the process can effect powerful changes in how we and our students approach and navigate through every performance. Humor and perspective are included in this seminar, along with specific tools to employ that can give the energy and confidence required for a beautiful outcome.”
CONCERT: Monday, Feb. 10, at 7:30 p.m. in Sheslow Auditorium. After a selection of preludes for solo piano by Claude Debussy, Professor Graves will share the stage with her longtime collaborators of the Sapphire Trio, Margaret Baldridge (violin) and Maxine Ramey (clarinet); music by Philip Martin, Alexander Arutiunian, Rick Sowash, and a work by Brian A. Van Winkle that was composed especially for the Sapphire Trio. The evening will conclude with Graves’ original multi-media presentation, “A Celebration of the Piano and the Many Places it Finds Itself!”
KEYS TO EXCELLENCE PIANO SERIES 2024–2025:
Keys to Excellence features internationally acclaimed pianists in concert. All events will take place in Sheslow Auditorium at Drake University with Masterclasses beginning at 4 p.m. and concerts at 7:30 p.m. on the dates listed below. Admission is free and events are open to the public.
ILIA RADOSLAVOV – Illinois Wesleyan University
September 29: Masterclass
September 30: Concert
NICHOLAS ROTH – Drake University – Sally B. Bartlett Memorial
December 2: Concert
(No Masterclass)
JODY GRAVES & THE SAPPHIRE TRIO – Eastern Washington University
February 9: Presentation
February 10: Concert
WINSTON CHOI – Roosevelt University
March 30: Masterclass
March 31: Concert
Keys to Excellence piano series is supported by Drake University Jordan Concerts. For more information, contact Nicholas Roth at 515–321–5947 or nicholas.roth@drake.edu.