Music in the Museum Concert Series

Wednesday, March 26 at 12 p.m. and 5 p.m.

Free and open to all!

GAMA’s free Music in the Museum Concert Series explores the cross-fertilization of music and the visual arts through concerts in the galleries. Performances by Colorado State University music faculty and students are enriched with context provided by faculty and students from the Department of Art and Art History and the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance.

Songs of Innocence: Music for Toy Piano

Performer & speaker: Joel Bacon

“A toy piano is neither a piano nor a toy… but an ‘innocent’ keyboard…” — Karlheinz Essl, composer

Joel Bacon gives his debut recital as a toy pianist with a program including music by John Cage and Karlheinz Essl, as well as the premiere of a work composed by Michael Grill (“For Joel’s Toy Piano”).

His instruments include a 32-note Kawai Grand Toy Piano, a 37-note Schoenhut Upright Toy Piano, and a 25-note Schoenhut Tabletop Toy Piano. They will be played both “naturally” and also with amplification, live electronics, and audio playback.

Joel Bacon is the Stewart and Sheron Golden Chair of Organ and Liturgical Studies and the Fr. Don Willette Chair of Catholic Studies at CSU. As a concert organist, his recent performances have focused on music by W. A. Mozart, Herman Berlinski, and Petr Eben, as well as works for organ and orchestra. His teaching and research centers on topics related to Catholicism and the creative arts, especially Gregorian chant.

Program: “Songs of Innocence”

Suite for Toy Piano (1948) / John Cage

Music for Amplified Toy Pianos (1960) / John Cage (with Lynn Boland, Christian Kuhlman, toy pianos; Jim Doser, live electronics)

For Joel’s Toy Piano (2025) / Michael Grill *World premiere*

Trois Cent Drones (2019–2021) / Karlheinz Essl *U.S. premiere*

Bricolage (2024) / Karlheinz Essl *USA premiere*

These concerts are free and open to the public, but we ask for reservations as space in the galleries is limited.
Registration closes 1 hour before each concert or if event reaches total capacity.