All pianists invited to apply for ECC American Grands spots

Pianists of all levels can begin applying for a performance spot in the Elgin Community College Arts Center's American Grands XVI on Wednesday, Aug. 4.

The event will be held on Saturday, Jan. 29, 2011 at the arts center's Blizzard Theatre on the ECC Main Campus, 1700 Spartan Drive, Elgin.

Applications will be accepted online at elgin.edu/americangrands until midnight on Friday, Sept. 24. Applicants are required to attend three rehearsals and may be required to perform in two of the three concerts which will be held at 1, 4 and 7 p.m.

Billed as "the piano event of the year," American Grands features more than 400 performers of all talent levels and age groups from throughout the area. Up to 24 musicians perform classical and popular music at once on a dozen grand pianos provided by Cordogan's Pianoland in Geneva, the event sponsor.

Colin Holman returns as conductor and Jon Mortensen as percussionist at the event. For more information, contact music director Larry Dieffenbach at (847) 214-7404 or ldieffenbach@elgin.edu.

Tickets to American Grands XVI are $22 for adults and $15 for children age 12 and under. Tickets for all performances in the ECC Arts Center will be available online as of Monday, Aug. 2 at tickets.elgin.edu or at the ECC box office in the arts center. Box office hours are noon to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday, noon to 5 p.m. Friday and noon to 5 p.m. Saturday. To purchase tickets by phone, call (847) 622-0300. All major credit cards are accepted.

For more information about the ECC Arts Center, visit www.elgin.edu/arts. Video clips of upcoming artists and events can be found at www.youtube.com/ECCArtsCenter. Connect and talk to the arts center on Standing Room Only, a blog at www.eccartscenter.com. The arts center also can be followed on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ECCArtsCenter. Become a fan of the arts center on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ECCArtsCenter.