24th Annual Toy Piano Festival

UC San Diego Library’s 24th Annual Toy Piano Festival

Hear new works for toy piano on Thursday, September 5, at noon, in the Seuss Room of UC San Diego’s Geisel Library. This date marks composer John Cage's birthday---Cage was the first composer to write a "serious" work for toy piano.

Performance is free and open to the public.

Performers on September 5th include: Kay Etheridge, Kenneth Herman, Christian Hertzog, Bridgette Hines, Bobby Ortiz, Sue Palmer, Scott Paulson, and Barbara Scheidker.

Exciting new works for toy piano, traditional lullabies from many lands and various centuries of chiming clock tunes will be featured on the program.

https://library.ucsd.edu/news-events/events/24th-annual-toy-piano-festival-geisel-library/

BONUS INFO FOR THE SEPT 5 SHOW:

UC San Diego’s history with toy pianos dates back to 1966 when composer Robert Erickson, a founder of the university’s music department, wrote a piece for toy pianos and bells that premiered on California’s PBS television stations.

The first composer to write a “serious” work for toy piano was John Cage, who visited the UC San Diego campus on several occasions, including a two-week stay as a Regents lecturer in the 1980s. Alumnus Scott Paulson, who was on campus for Cage’s lectures, cites the Cage influence as a major part of the impetus of this Toy Piano Festival, of which Paulson is the director.

Fun facts:

In 1999, a missing service bell at a Geisel Library help desk spawned a long streak of toy piano activity here at UC San Diego. The bell was replaced by a playful tiny keyboard and a sign: “Please play on toy piano for service.” And play they did!

The resultant flurry of toy piano activity led to the establishment of The Toy Piano Collection at Geisel Library. The Toy Piano Collection consists of actual instruments, commissioned scores, and extant literature and recordings. Most of the commissioned scores in the collection are composed by UC San Diego alumni.

In May 2001, the Library of Congress issued a subject heading and call number for toy piano scores because of the activities at Geisel Library. The collection can be viewed under the call number M 175 T69.

For more info: spaulson@ucsd.edu

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