Keys to the Season

As has become tradition in the College of Music at Michigan State University, staff join forces with faculty and students to produce a unique take on a holiday classic. Arranged, recorded, and filmed with the sole purpose of bringing joy to all who love music during the end of each calendar year, this annual video has become one that our community and MSU as a whole looks forward to each year.

Experience movements from Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker, reimagined for a unique mix of keyboards. From grand pianos, organ to harpsichord, celesta and even Beaumont Tower’s carillon, instrumentalists from the Michigan State University College of Music Keyboard and Jazz areas bring to life an original arrangement written especially for this one-of-a-kind ensemble.

Music

The Nutcracker by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy and Russian Dance, arranged by David Biedenbender, MSU Associate Professor of Composition and Chair of the MSU Composition Area.

Instrumentalists

Sunah Jeong and Wanwan Yang (piano four hands)
Max Gage (jazz piano)
Kelly Bohan (organ)
Jiayin Zhang (harpsichord)
Yi-Hui Chen (celesta)
Timothy Bohan (carillon)

Production

Production Director – Zachary Cunningham

Audio Engineer – Jen Shangraw

Audio Producer – Catherine Lee

Lighting Design – by James Peters

Keyboard Technician – Billy Sadler

Producers – Michael Sundermann and Rick Seguin