Big Passion for Tiny Music: Library’s Toy Piano Festival Returns with New Works Sept. 5 & 10

What do teeny-tiny pianos and the Cat in the Hat Songbook have in common? They are part of this year’s Toy Piano Festival

The popular fest, now in its 17th year, will feature two performances this fall, the first at Geisel Library in the Seuss Room on September 5 at noon, and a special collaboration with the San Diego Public Library on Sunday, September 10 at 2:30 pm in the Neil Morgan Auditorium. 

Join festival director Scott Paulson and his toy piano colleagues Sue Palmer, Andrea Wingen, Kenneth Herman, Ryoko Amadee Goguen, Samara Rice, Christian Hertzog and Alex Segal for a performance that will amuse listeners of all ages. 

Since 2000, the UC San Diego Library has hosted the Toy Piano Festival every September, to pay homage to the September 5 birthday of John Cage, the first composer to write a serious work for toy pianos. In May of 2001, the Library of Congress issued a subject heading and call number for toy piano scores, at the request of Paulson, the Toy Piano Collection, and the events at Geisel Library. The call number is: M 175 T69.

The toy piano collection at Geisel Library consists of commissioned scores, literature and recordings, and actual toy pianos, ranging from simple four-note novelty keyboards to three-octave baby grands. A selection of toy piano scores and instruments will be on stage at the San Diego Public Library event.

Both performances are free and open to the public. For more information, contact Scott Paulson at spaulson@ucsd.edu or (858) 822-5758.