Five pianos and 440 keys: 5 Browns set for ‘pianopalooza’

Prepare to have the classics awakened by five piano-playing siblings.

The 5 Browns open the 2017-18 Fine Arts Series at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University with a concert at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9, at Escher Auditorium, Benedicta Arts Center, CSB.

The 5 Browns – Ryan, Melody, Gregory, Deondra and Desirae –all trained at the prestigious Juilliard School in New York City. They were the first family of five siblings ever accepted into the school simultaneously.

The result is a super-charged “pianopalooza,” producing full orchestral sounding favorites filled with style and joyous flair – including Stravinsky’s “The Firebird” Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” and the fan-favorite “Star Wars.”

“One family, five pianos and 50 fingers add up to the biggest classical musical sensation in years … When these kids do Rachmaninoff, they’ll make you forget about Marshall amps,” wrote the New York Post newspaper.

The 2017-18 season will see the 5 Browns release of their seventh album with Grammy-award winning producer Adam Abeshouse. The album, which will include musical favorites from their childhood, will also feature an illustrated book authored by New York Times best seller Liesl Shurtliff.

Three of their previous CDs have went to No. 1 on Billboard Magazine’s Classical Album Chart. Their last CD release was 2013’s “The Rite of Spring.”

Tickets are $26 for adults, $23 for seniors, $19 for CSB/SJU faculty and staff and $15 for students and youth. For tickets, call the Benedicta Arts Center Box Office at 320-363-5777 or order online.

The event is co-sponsored by John and Maryanne Mahowald; Centrasota Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons PA; and Woodcrest of Country Manor.

These activities are made possible in part by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.