At the Piano

Jazz in the Target Atrium

About This Concert:

Four singular pianists take turns at the keyboard with classics from the American songbook along with original music—hear camaraderie and competition in this intimate performance.

• Jeremy Walker, piano and artistic director
• Chris Lomheim, piano
• Bryan Nichols, piano
• Javier Santiago, piano

Fun Facts:

• The keyboard has long been at the center of music. From Bach to Joplin, Chopin to Ellington, the forefront of compositional thought has been at the piano.
• The piano is an orchestra in a box—percussive, thundering, shimmering and clarion. Pianists coax a world of emotion from our most mechanized instrument.
• The four pianists in this program are widely divergent in style and approach, but all are united in unearthing new expressive territory at the piano.
• Chris Lomheim is a pianist whose rich harmony is always accompanied by swinging, bluesy improvisation. Bryan Nichols possesses formidable technique expressed through adventurous modernism. Javier Santiago is a hard-driving virtuoso versed in the jazz tradition. Jeremy Walker's pianism is quirky and expressive, with a restless imagination.
• Of this series, Pioneer Press notes "Orchestra Hall's Target Atrium is the Twin Cities' answer to New York's Dizzy's Club Coca Cola in Lincoln Center—a smaller, more intimate venue where listeners can enjoy concert hall-quality jazz."

Media Partner:

Please note: The Minnesota Orchestra does not perform on this program.

Photo credits: Chris Lomheim © Andrea Canter; Bryan Nichols © Benny Moreno; Javier Santiago © Jack Davis; Jeremy Walker © Clare W.G. Nieto