MEDIA CONTACT: Tory Olson, 515-271-1834, tory.olson@drake.edu
Two locally renowned pianists, Robert Lien and Ray Songayllo, will showcase their talent in “A Program for Two Pianos” at Drake University on Sunday, Feb. 1.
The performance, which is free and open to the public, will start at 2 p.m. on the Jordan Stage in Sheslow Auditorium in Old Main, 2507 University Ave. The program will include music by Debussy, Bizet, Barber, Grofé and Songayllo.
They will present the same program at a free concert starting at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 8, at the Temple for the Performing Arts, 1011 Locust St.
Lien has taught piano for 42 years, 39 of which have been in the Drake University Community School of Music. He received his undergraduate education at Concordia College and North Dakota State University. He then taught piano for three years before enrolling at Drake for graduate studies in piano performance.
In addition to teaching, Lien is an active performer in several ensembles. He founded the Wild Rose Trio (violin, cello, piano) and plays in a clarinet-piano duo. In addition, he serves as organist at Capitol Hill Lutheran Church in Des Moines.
Songayllo, who completed both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Northwestern University, teaches piano at the Temple of the Performing Arts in the Des Moines Symphony Academy. As a pianist and arranger, he also is a member of the Midgard Ensemble, an international chamber group that performs in Minneapolis and England.
He has performed across the United State and made his international debut in 1990 in Geneva, Switzerland.
Since then, he has performed at the French Piano Institute and the Salle Cortot in Paris; the International Workshops in Graz, Austria; the Dartington Festival in Devon, England; and the College Music Society International Conference at the University of Limerick in Ireland.