On Sunday, May 15, the annual Maplewood/South Orange Community Piano Recital, featuring piano students through age 18 who reside in Maplewood and South Orange, returned to live performance at the DeHart Community Center in Maplewood, New Jersey.
This joyful local event, now in its 25th year, has not been live since spring of 2019.
On Sunday, 22 students performed, representing six piano teachers and one cello teacher. For the first time ever, six graduating high-school seniors were honored. The music included solo and duet classics, jazz, students’ original compositions, and a cello/piano duo. “There were few dry eyes in the house during this celebration of our pianists,” said piano teacher Elizabeth Burnett, who organized the event with fellow piano teachers Kathy Allen and Birgit Matzerath.
Emma-Lia Thomas
L-R: Aidan Cunningham, Laila Gold, Seth Peiris, Dustin Crisci, Isaac Addo, Phoebe Hill
