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About the Duo

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"At the Two Pianos" has performed to acclaim worldwide. For the last 5 years, together Mr. Aceto and Mr. Johnson have performed works for two pianos and one piano, four hands in concert and in impromptu performance in cities across the world including Berlin, Copenhagen, Vienna, Cannes, Washington DC, Philadelphia, Cleveland, New York, Toledo, Detroit, Traverse City, Grand Rapids, Ann Arbor and Milwaukee.

The Duo has a unique talent among young pianists today for their interpretation of music from the 1910s, 20s & 30s. Their arrangements of theater orchestrations for use in theater pits in lieu of orchestra has been praised by the Rodgers and Hammerstein Theater Library. Their restorations of scores by Jerome Kern and Victor Herbert serve, in many cases, as the only known records of these lost and forgotten masterworks.

Their arrangement so liken the sound of the orchestra that their recordings of "concert productions" often match note-for-note orchestration of original recordings. Both pianists are familiar with the orchestral techniques of Broadway orchestrators including Frank Saddler, Robert Russell Bennett, Hans Spialek, F. Henri Klickmann, Phillip J. Lang, Morton Gould, Don Walker, Walter Paul, and often consult their orchestrations when transferring an orchestral score to the two pianos.

The duo also has formidable knowledge and spends substantial time studying pianists, piano duos and pianistic techniques of the early 20th century including those of Pauline Alpert, Ferde Grofe, George Gershwin, Morton Gould, Arden and Ohman, Walters and Bowers, Carroll and Fairchild, and of course, Eddie Duchin.

The other specialty of the Duo is rare, four-hands transcriptions of symphonic works, often arranged by their original composers.

Patrick Johnson

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Mr. Johnson is a versatile musician whose ability to erform in various styles has marveled audiences throughout the US and Canada. He has supplemented his training as a solo pianist with experiences working with professional orchestras, choirs, and theater companies. He is active in the combined roles of concert pianist, accompanist, organist, conductor, arranger, and vocalist. He has transcribed for piano the orchestrations of many musical theater works of the early 20th century, and in doing so has acquired a unique knowledge of this forgotten musical genre: the origin of popular song. Mr. Johnson also has a special interest in the novelty piano styles of the 1920s and 30s, as heard in the recordings and piano rolls of George Gershwin, Zez Confrey and Pauline Alpert, and he has researched the subject at the Library of Congress. He is an avid collector of historic recordings, particularly symphonic music and composer-pianists at the keyboard; all continue to influence his interpretation and performances of the traditional piano classics.

As accompanist, he has performed for theater companies, voice competitions, and in recitals throughout Michigan, Ohio, and Ontario, Canada. His ability to complement the

strengths of fellow musicians was reflected in the 2005 Harold Haugh Light Opera Vocal Competition, where he was the accompanist for the first and second prize winners. He has also been coached by mezzo-soprano Joan Morris and Grammy Award-winning composer William Bolcom in the interpretation of American popular song.

Mr. Johnson is often heard performing alongside duo-partner Adam Aceto as the musical team, "At the Two Pianos" The duo specializes in orchestral transcriptions of both classic symphonic repertoire and theater music. Sought after nation-wide, they maintain an active schedule performing and recording the theater works of Victor Herbert and Jerome Kern, most often with the Comic Opera Guild of Ann Arbor, Michigan. Mr. Johnson is a member of the Comic Opera Guild's board of directors.

Mr. Johnson is the director of music at Saint Sylvester Church in Warren, Michigan, where he is organist, cantor, and conductor of the adult choir, hand-bell ensemble, children';s choir, and cantor program. He is also a member of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians (NPM).

A graduate of the University of Michigan School of Music, Mr. Johnson holds a Bachelor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance. He is originally from Lansing, Michigan, and his primary teachers include Jean Hull, Louis Nagel, and James Kibbie.

Adam Aceto

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ADAM ACETO

An expert in the field of early American musical theater, Mr. Aceto is among the most respected of operetta conductors, having conducted more Victor Herbert operettas than any other conductor. Mr. Aceto has received praise and compliment for his efforts to preserve and restore lost and forgotten American theater works from international audiences, as well as The Victor Herbert Renaissance Project, Operetta Archives of Los Angeles, the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization, the Tams-Wimark Music Library, the Tams-Witmark collection at the University of Wisconsin, Madison as well as dozens of other music libraries and collections. An authority on theAmerican musical, he has been asked to preface the upcoming Victor Herbert Biography. He is a collector of rare music and has a collection of 100s of scores, promptbooks and sides.

Mr. Aceto is the president of the Comic Opera Guild in Ann Arbor, MI and has been their artistic director for the past five years serving both as pianist and conductor. Together with Piano-duo parter Patrick Johnson, he is the founder of the "American Musicals in Concert" Series held in Ann Arbor each summer and has led the group’s fundraising and relocation projects.. Mr. Aceto has also been the music director for the Canton Comic Opera Company of Canton, OH.

Mr. Aceto is a sought after accompanist as well as an advisor and speaker about operetta repertoire. He teaches privately in addition to his being the pianist for the Plymouth Symphony Orchestra and Orchestra Canton (MI). A longtime church musician, he was formerly the music director and organist at St. John's Episcopal Church in Westland, MI and currently serves as music director for historic Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Roseville, MI. He is also a member of the Detroit Theater Organ Society.

As a child, Mr. Aceto studied theory at the University of Wisconsin and won concerto contests throughout the Midwest.. He speaks German, French, Italian, and (some) Russian and has lived in Cannes, France, where he taught high school English. He has performed on tour and recorded in the US, Europe and Australia and is a graduate of the University of Michigan, School of Music.

In addition to performing, Mr. Aceto is an avid orchestrator of theater music. In 1996, he worked with "Annie" composer Charles Strouse and currently works for the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization doing both restorations and arranging.