I had the opportunity to see Grammy award-winning pianist Richard Goode share his talents at the Fresno State Concert Music Hall earlier this year. I went into the recital thinking of it as an assignment. I walked out feeling grateful for the experience. It felt as if, for a moment, I had been transported to Carnegie Hall. 

The Philip Lorenz International Keyboard Concerts is holding its final performance of the 52nd season with pianist Joyce Yang. 

The concert will be held at the Fresno State Concert Hall on Friday at 7:30 p.m. 

Yang is known to enchant her audiences with a poetic touch in her playing. She achieved fame when she won the silver medal at the 2005 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. She has also performed with many orchestras, such as the New York Philharmonic and the San Francisco Symphony, to name a few. 

“There is not much in Fresno that you can do. It’s not like New York or Berlin. But bringing a little bit of that here helps keep the cultural life vibrant in Fresno,” said Andreas Werz, artistic director of Keyboard Concerts. 

Pianists from around the world come to Fresno State to perform for the Keyboard Concerts series. Experiencing the recital is only $5 for students and $40 for general admission. 

“If you would hear them in New York or anywhere else they might charge easily ten times the price, and they’re world-class artists,” said Peter Klimo, a board member of Keyboard Concerts and an assistant professor of piano at Fresno State. 

The emotion you get to see when witnessing a live performer is surreal at times and the expression a pianist performs with is unlike any other. 

“There is no replacement for a live performance. It has a chemistry that you cannot recreate,” Werz said. 

It was surprising to me that I hadn’t heard of Keyboard Concerts, considering that as a Fresno State student, the opportunity has been there for me for quite some time now. 

When searching for a reason for non-music majors to be interested in the series, piano major Pierre Bui brought up a great point in stating, “Where else are you going to Keyboard Concerts like this [for so] cheap? You experience this sense of humanity and imperfection that you wouldn’t quite get if you listened to a recording.”

The amount of talent on display from these world-class artists completely takes you away from the sense of being in Fresno. 

“If music could cry it would be the piano. It’s such a beautiful thing. I would recommend it to anybody who’s wanting just peace,” said piano major Beck Pruneda. 

I plan to attend Friday night’s recital to experience it again for myself.