Pianist-composers Carei Thomas, Todd Harper and Paul Cantrell started Keys Please in 2002, and this mid-winter tradition has become a staple of the Twin Cities new music calendar. The annual concert takes on musics of diverse genres for an evening of sonic surprise, wonder and beauty. You will hear poemmetry, “weather permitting,” compositions old and new, and most of all the pleasure of musical friendship shared!

This year’s special guest is James Holdman, an intrepid musical explorer whose fretting skills range from the bouzouki to the electric guitar. He is both an ingenious composer and a consummate improviser, and we are delighted to have him in this year's Keys Please mix, whose threads range from Brahms to free improv to French café music.

We hope to see you there!

A Sampling of Keys Please Past

• 2002: Keys Please!
• 2003: The Monster from Keys Please!