A dozen pianos will be on stage at the Ford Theater in March. Photo provided
For the eighth time in over 30 years, Honeywell Arts & Entertainment welcomes pianists from across the region to “A Grand Time” on Saturday, March 29, 2025.
“A Grand Time” will feature nearly 100 pianists on the HoneywellCenter stage, with up to 24 playing 12 grand pianos simultaneously, according to a press release.
Conductor Norma Meyer leads the concert, which takes place every five years. A Grand Time premiered in 1990, conducted by pianist, conductor and A Grand Time founder John Kozar. Organizers of the 2025 concert are Eileen Dye, Carolyn Eppley, Minda Lehman and Susan Vanlandingham.
The multi-piano style concerto, in which twelve grand pianos are played simultaneously, is sometimes called a “monster piano” concerto.
“Back when John Kozar was there, he always insisted that we tell the story of the Monster Piano concert,” Arts Council member Carolyn Eppley said in an interview. “Supposedly there was one in 1832.”
“Gottschalk, another composer, originated it here in the States,” she continued, referring to the history of the multi-piano concerto. “We affectionately call it the Monster Concerto because it’s such a monster to deal with.”
Eppley said she “joined the Arts Council probably in the late ’70s. Back then, the Arts Council did a little bit of what Honeywell does today – a big thing; we tried to bring the arts into the schools once a year, at least the local schools. And sometimes we did something for adults, too.”
Eppley recalled an arts festival she attended in 1988 with Marilyn Ford, another Arts Council member. It was at that festival that Ford met musician John Kozar.
Eppley said, “…and they started talking. He was willing to do this concert with multiple pianos. I think we were the first to do it at the time. Anyway, she brought the idea back to the Arts Council. And we thought about it a little bit and then decided we would do it.”
The first concert was in March 1990. “…and we decided to try it every five years because we would raise money somehow in between. I think 2010 was the last one sponsored by the Arts Council and sometime after that we disbanded because Honeywell were doing such a good job at what we were doing a little bit. So we decided to – how do they say – reinvent the wheel?”
The first concert sponsored by Honeywell took place in 2015. The following concert was originally scheduled for five years later, in 2020. However, that concert was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Eppley explained: “… starting in 2020, we tried three times. We finally did it in April 2022.”
The upcoming concert is within the schedule of the original five-year cycle.
The Honeywell Center press release states that they are still looking for artists from across the region to join the program for the unique event. The concert is open to artists of all ages and experience levels, and no audition is necessary. Participants must be available for required rehearsals from Tuesday, March 25 through Friday, March 28, 2025. Those interested in performing should contact Jake Bunnell, Honeywell Arts & Entertainment Music Program Manager, at jbunnell@ honeywellarts.org by September 13.
