World-renowned pianist Jeffrey Siegel brings signature Keyboard Conversations to Munson on Sept. 9 

Aug. 31, 2023. UTICA — Audiences will be treated to an evening of music and knowledge with internationally-renowned pianist Jeffrey Siegel in Keyboard Conversations: Festive French Fare at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 9 at Munson in downtown Utica. 

The works of famous French composers — Debussy, Saint-Saens, Satie and Ravel — will be explored first in words and then by playing the composition in its entirety. The discussions, in which Siegel uses non-technical language, provide context to iconic classical pieces. 

“It’s to make that listening experience more than just sitting there and absorbing sound for the real music lover,” Siegel said. “And for somebody who knows he’s missing something not to have Beethoven in his life and is looking for a gentle introduction, it provides an accessible and hopefully very inviting musical program.”

The Sept. 9 performance, Festive French Fare, features glorious music like Debussy’s Clair de lune and Ravel’s Sonatine.

“With the French composers not only do we get music of melody, harmony, and rhythm, but the sheer beauty of the sound itself,” Siegel said. 

Tickets to Keyboard Conversations: Festive French Fare are $28 for the general public and $25 for Munson Members. Tickets are available at munson.art or 315-797-0055.  

Funding for Keyboard Conversations is provided by Dr. Lorna Grant, Dr. Douglas Hurd, and Dr. Cynthia Parlato-Hurd. 

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Munson is an internationally recognized fine arts center in Utica, New York serving diverse audiences through a renowned Museum of Art, live performances and events, community arts classes, and Pratt Munson, the upstate extension campus of the prestigious Pratt Institute.