“Around the world in 8 recitals”
Our Second Season 2025-2026
Major 2024-2025 sponsor:
Ticket prices are listed after each concert description for adults/children 12 and under
Scroll down below the ticket form to see complete details for all the concerts!
October 25, 2025, 6:30 pm: Bicentennial of Johann Strauss Jr., the “Waltz King”
Ukraine, Romania, Austria, U.S.A.
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Ukraine, Romania, Austria, U.S.A. 〰️
Bohdan Subchak, violin, and Maira Liliestedt, piano
Happy 200th birthday, Johann Strauss, Jr.!
The “Waltz King”s 200th birthday would have been TODAY! We kick off our journey around the world in musical capital Vienna, Austria! Celebrate with beloved waltzes and polkas like “The Beautiful Blue Danube,” “Vienna Blood,” and the “Pizzicato Polka.” $28/14
Bohdan Subchak, violin
Ukrainian and Romanian-American celebrate Austria!
Ukrainian violinist and Mount Union faculty member Bohdan Subchak and Romanian-American resident pianist Maira Liliestedt will make you want to twirl around the floor in this spirited musical birthday bash!
November 9, 2025, 3:00 PM: Folk Music of the World
Folk Music of the World
Assistant concertmaster of the Canton Symphony Emily Cornelius takes center stage sweeping from our American home into a a Central European adventure through the folk music of Hungary, Romania, France, and Estonia. $28/14
Emily Cornelius, violin;
Maira Liliestedt, piano
Ross Karre, percussion
On the percussion faculty at Oberlin Conservatory, Karre joins Emily Cornelius for Arvo Part’s Fratres.
Emily Cornelius, violin, Ross Karre, percussion, and Maira Liliestedt, piano
December 14, 2025, 3:00 PM: piano Senior recital
Dorian Draper performs music of Bach, Bartok, Grieg, Mozart
Our international musical tour turns North from Romania to Germany and Austria, and finally, to Edvard Grieg’s native Norway. Enjoy a program of Bach French Suite movements, Mozart’s B-flat Major Sonata K. 570, Bartok’s Romanian Folk Dances, and Grieg’s Norwegian “Wedding Day at Troldhaugen.” $10/5
Dorian Draper, piano
January 18, 2026, 3:00 pm: Favorite Songs and Arias
Ben Hayes, tenor
Today, we visit Italy in Lucio Dalla’s “Caruso,” and the British Isles to the strains of Roger Quilter’s “Love’s Philosophy” and “Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal.” Mozart also makes a stop with an excerpt from the ever-popular “The Magic Flute.” 28/14
Ben Hayes, tenor
February 15, 2026, 6:30 pm: Joint piano recital
(5:45 pm Lecture on Chopin’s “Funeral March” Sonata, presented by Maira Liliestedt, is open to season subscribers; tonight’s single concert ticket holders can purchase tickets to the lecture separately by adding $5 to their concert ticket price)
Edmund Shi, piano
Physician and Keys to Artistry adult student Edmund Shi leads a Hapsburg adventure through the music of Hungary and Austria on the first half of this joint recital.
Samuel Atkinson, piano
In this recital’s second half, Keys to Artistry adult student and mechanical engineer Samuel Atkinson relays the aching and heart throbbing of Polish master Frederic Chopin’s Sonata No. 2, the “Funeral March.” Season subscribers are welcome to arrive early for a 5:45 pm lecture on the Funeral March Sonata by pianist Dr. Maira Liliestedt. Shi and Atkinson joint recital $10/5
Edmund Shi and Samuel Atkinson, piano
March 15, 2026, 3:00 pm: Colors in Sound!
Ellie Chamblee, piano
Keys to Artistry adult student Ellie Chamblee brings Russian melancholy of Sergei Rachmaninoff and German angst of Johannes Brahms to this program. Visual artist Laurie Chamblee shares works she created upon the inspiration of the music we will hear. $10/5
Ellie Chamblee, piano, and Laurie Chamblee, visual artist
April 9, 2026, 6:30 pm: Glory to God in the Highest
Eden Walker, composer and pianist
Mount Union and Keys to Artistry alumna Eden Walker brings the vibrance of her faith to our venue with her original compositions and exquisite Christian hymn arrangements. $14/7
Eden Walker, pianist, composer, arranger—original compositions and hymn arrangements
May 17, 2026, 3:00 PM: Pridonoff Piano Duo
The Pridonoff Piano Duo
Eugene and Elisabeth Pridonoff return! The legends grace our stage for the second year in a row after their smashing success brought the house down last May! $36/18
2024-2025 Concert Series Season
Past Concerts—Information, Photos, and Video
Pridonoff Duo
Our series culminates with the legendary Pridonoff Duo! Be mesmerized by the passion, artistry, virtuosity, and sizzle of the electrifying performance of this world-class duo! $35/$18
Elisabeth Pridonoff
Elisabeth Pridonoff was for 35 years Professor of Piano and Duo-in-Residence with Eugene Pridonoff at the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music. Now Emerita Professor of Piano, she is on the faculty of the Arizona Piano Institute and Artist-in-Residence at Lipscomb University in Nashville. Elisabeth and Eugene Pridonoff’s students, according to the September 2022 MTNA e-JOURNAL, are among the most tenured and tenure-track piano performance faculty in the United States from leading teachers and institutions. Formerly Co-Artistic Director of the Prague International Piano Institute with Eugene Pridonoff, she has taught at the Brevard Festival, International Piano Week of Belgium, the Barcelona Festival, and the Amalfi Festival. A graduate of The Julliard School, she earned a Master of Music in piano and voice studying piano with Adele Marcus and Sasha Gorodnitski and voice with Hans Heinz and Anna Kaskas. Post graduate studies were with Guido Agosti at Chigiana Santa Cecelia and in Rome, Italy. Elisabeth Pridonoff is a Steinway Artist and has recorded for Centaur, Toccata Classics, and ablaze Records.
Eugene Pridonoff
Eugene Pridonoff is internationally recognized as a leading performing pedagogue for over a half century and was Professor of Piano and Artist-in-Residence at the University of Cincinnati, Arizona State University, Iowa State University and Temple University. Linked with the great performing traditions of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, he studied with Rudolf Serkin, Mieczyslaw Horszowski, Eleanor Sokoloff, Lillian Steuber, Emmanuel Bay, and Alice Ehlers, at the University of Southern California, Curtis Institute of Music, and Temple University. Former students of Eugene and Elisabeth Pridonoff were first place winners in the Horowitz, Missouri Southern, American Pianists Association, Shreveport Wideman, and Midland-Odessa competitions. He has performed with the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Montreal Symphony, Beijing Central Opera Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic, and Phoenix Symphony. A Steinway Artist, he can be heard on YouTube, Spotify, and ablaze Records.
Concert Sponsor
September 14, 2024, 6:30 PM
Debussy and Chopin
Adult students Ellie Chamblee and Edmund Shi presented a piano recital featuring some of the most universally-beloved Classical pieces including the Chopin Scherzo No. 2, Fantasie Impromptu, and Ballade No. 3, Mozart’s C Minor Fantasy, Bach French Suite in G Major, and Debussy’s Pour le Piano and Clair de lune. $10/5
⏳⏳ SOLD OUT! ⏳⏳
OUR FIRST CONCERT WAS A GREAT SUCCESS! CHECK OUT VIDEO AND PHOTOS BELOW!🎼✨🎶🎈🎆
Ellie Chamblee (above) and Edmund Shi (left)
October 19, 2024, 6:30 PM
Bach, Haydn, and Schubert
Adult student and Mount Union piano graduate Samuel Atkinson presented a solo recital featuring Schubert Impromptus Op. 90, Bach’s Italian Concerto, and Haydn’s Sonata No. 23 in F Major, plus favorites of Brahms, Chopin, and Rachmaninoff. $10/$5
⏳⌛SOLD OUT!⏳⌛
OUR SECOND CONCERT WAS ALSO A SMASH HIT! Check out the recording below to enjoy it again. First half: recordings I and II. Second half: recording III. Encore: recording IV. 🎈✨
November 9, 2024, 6:30 pm
Maira Liliestedt
Sadly, Keys to Artistry alumna and University of Mount Union senior pianist Eden Walker is injured. Maira Liliestedt will instead present a solo recital featuring some of her perennial favorite pieces of music. $10/$5
⌛⏳ SOLD OUT! You can enjoy the music in recording below. Last minute concert—raw, but from the heart. 🎫🎫
December 14, 2024, 6:30 PM
A Christmas Extravaganza!
Maira Liliestedt plays arrangements of our favorite holiday songs! Enjoy the fireside music bathed in the glow of our enormous Christmas tree, join in with sing-along carols, and sip hot-chocolate in this perfect Christmas setting—just right to bring in the holiday spirit! $27/$14
🎄🎄Check out Maira’s YouTube channel for recordings of many of the pieces she performed on this program!🎄🎄
Join Maira in celebrating her favorite holiday with her favorite Christmas songs
Concert Sponsor
January 11, 2025, 6:30 pm
Grieg, Mendelssohn, and Moszkowski
High school pianists Dorian Draper and Nate Scheck play enchanting music of Grieg, Mendelssohn, and Moszkowski. $10/$5
Enjoy the concert in the recordings of the first and second half below!
ENCORE Performance: March 1, 2025, 3 pm;
original date: February 8, 2025, 6:30 pm
Laura Mason, soprano, piano; Maira Liliestedt, piano
An evening showing the intersection of musical theatre and opera! Guest artist Laura Mason received her Bachelor of Music Education from Mount Union University where she focused her studies on both piano and voice. Laura has taught and performed in various venues throughout Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Laura currently teaches voice, piano, and Kindermusik at Kathy's Music in Pittsburgh where she also serves as Director of Education. $27/$14
Enjoy the initial recital recording and the March 1 encore below!
March 9, 2025, 6:30 pm
Appassionata
Piano Duo
Janelle Phinney returns to Canton to join Maira Liliestedt in a complete performance of Brahms’s emotionally-charged Hungarian Dances. The Appassionata Piano Duo has been a successful musical partnership since 1996. Critic Tom Wachunas described the duo’s playing as “a warm and deft joining of palpable grace with flawless, often fiery technique,” displaying a “riveting, lucid finesse alternately muscular and delicate.” The ensemble has also garnered praise for its “wonderful ensemble, balance, and unity of purpose,” and its “terrific collaboration full of grace and passion.” (Eugene and Elisabeth Pridonoff, Cincinnati Conservatory Professors of Piano Emeriti). $27/$14
⌛⌚SOLD OUT! THANK YOU!⌛⌚
Enjoy the live recording below!
Concert Sponsor
April 12, 2025, 6:30 PM
Joint high school recital
High school pianists Eric Wasco and Sami Rankin play a recital of music including pieces by Bach, the famous Mozart D Minor Fantasy, Beethoven’s fiery “Pathetique” Sonata, and Liszt’s soaringly romantic Liebestraume No. 3. FREE concert.
Eric Wasco (above) and Sami Rankin (left)
July 18, 2025, 6:30 pm
Senior recital: Maddie Bigahm
A solo recital featuring the sparkling piano music of Mozart and the luminous landscapes of Debussy. FREE concert.
Sponsorship and advertising Opportunities
If you are interested in sponsoring KTA in bringing superb musicians to our private recital hall, please email maira@keystoartistry.com. Sponsorship levels are available for full concert sponsor, concert co-sponsor, and various lower donation levels. Sponsors and donors will receive free tickets to the concert and other perks possibly including a time to meet the performers during a private dinner party.
Interested in placing an ad for your business in one or more of our concert programs? Please email maira@keystoartistry.com for details and pricing. Thank you for supporting high-level music-making and learning in our home community!
Location and Pricing
These intimate concerts will be held at our Keys to Artistry Recital Hall in Canton, OH. Pricing for guest artist concerts will be $27 for adults and $14 for children ages 12 and under. Pricing for advanced student recitals will be $10 for adults and $5 for children ages 12 and under. Tickets for the Pridonoff Duo (our keynote artists’) concert will be $35 for adults and $18 for children 12 and under.