A Piano Party for Terry Riley at 80

About

Paying tribute to composer-pianist Terry Riley’s enduring impact on contemporary music, A Piano Party for Terry Riley at 80 will feature solo piano pieces written in honor of his 80th birthday. Pianist Sarah Cahill will perform pieces written by Pauline Oliveros, Samuel Carl Adams, Evan Ziporyn, Gyan Riley, Christine Southworth, Luciano Chessa, Dylan Mattingly, Danny Clay, and Elena Ruehr, along with Riley’s own Keyboard Studies (1964) and Fandango on the Heaven Ladder (1994).

Recently called “a sterling pianist and an intrepid illuminator of the classical avant-garde” by The New York Times and “a brilliant and charismatic advocate for modern and contemporary composers” by Time Out New York, Sarah Cahill has commissioned, premiered, and recorded many new compositions for solo piano. She has worked closely with Terry Riley since 1997, when she commissioned his four-hand piece Cinco de Mayo for an all-piano festival at Cal Performances. She curates a new music series at the Berkeley Art Museum, hosts a series at the Exploratorium in San Francisco, and serves on the faculty of the San Francisco Conservatory. Her radio show, Revolutions Per Minute, can be heard every Sunday evening from 8-10 pm on KALW 91.7 FM in San Francisco.  

Terry Riley, a pioneer of American minimalist music and prolific composer and performer, celebrates his 80th birthday this year with various programs throughout New York City and beyond.