Sarah Jones
Educational Program coordinator, 308.865.8284
UNK – Classical music will fill the air at the University of Nebraska at Kearney Frank House on Saturday, Oct. 2, as “On the Square,” a program centered on the square grand piano, is presented.
The performance will begin at 1:30 p.m. in the Frank House drawing room. The Frank House is located on the UNK West Campus.
Amaryah Fritz, a sophomore music education major from Hildreth, will give a presentation on the history of the square grand piano. Fritz will also be playing the piano in a recital featuring selections by Johann Sebastian Bach and Beethoven, among others.
“On regular pianos, the pedals are in the middle of the keyboard, and the keyboard extends from each end of the piano,” Fritz said, “With the square piano, the keyboard is shorter and not centered with the piano, which makes it a bit tricky to play.
“Square grand pianos were very popular with upper class residents of the Midwest, because they were novel, and easier to ship via rail car and wagon,” said Sarah Jones, UNK Frank House director. “The Frank House square piano was made in 1876 and is one of the last of this shape manufactured by the Steinway Company.”
Guided tours and light refreshments will be available at the Frank House immediately after the presentation.
The square grand piano program, one in a series of “Saturdays at the Frank House” presentations, is free and open to the public. Donations to the Frank House will be accepted.
“Saturdays at the Frank House” next event is a lecture on the history of Harmon Park, which will be given by members of the Kearney Area Preservation Society on Saturday, Oct. 9.
