Drake University’s Keys to Excellence Piano Series opens its 2026–2027 season on Friday, Sept. 4, at 7:30 p.m. in Sheslow Auditorium with a concert by duo pianists Réne Lecuona and Alan Huckleberry. Admission is free and open to the public.
Lecuona and Huckleberry, both professors of piano at the Voxman School of Music at the University of Iowa, will present a performance featuring both celebrated masterworks and lesser-known gems from the rich piano duet repertoire. The program highlights symphony movements by Beethoven, Schumann, and Dvořák; Francis Poulenc’s Sonata for Four Hands; Johannes Brahms’s Hungarian Dances; and a featured work by a contemporary Colombian composer (TBA).
The 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. All events take place in Sheslow Auditorium and are free to the public.
KEYS TO EXCELLENCE PIANO SERIES: 2026–2027 SCHEDULE
Réne Lecuona and Alan Huckleberry, Piano Duo (University of Iowa)
Concert: September 4 at 7:30 p.m. (No Masterclass)
Nicholas Roth and Seth Tack, Baritone (Drake University)
Sally B. Bartlett Memorial Concert
Concert: November 30 at 7:30 p.m. (No Masterclass)
Avita Duo (University of Iowa)
Ksenia Nosikova, piano, and Katya Moeller, violin
Masterclass: February 21 at 5:30 p.m.
Concert: February 22 at 7:30 p.m.
Vakhtang Kodanashvili (University of Northern Iowa)
Masterclass: March 21 at 4 p.m.
Concert: March 22 at 7:30 p.m.
Duo Mundi George & Guli, piano duo (Bowdoin College)
George Lopez & Gulimina Mahanuti
Masterclass: April 11 at 4 p.m.
Concert: April 12 at 7:30 p.m.