VALLEY CITY, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – The Barnes County Historical Society Presents: Ozzie Johnson (VCSU) “Treasures of the Past, Gifts for the Future” event on Thursday, April 18th at 7pm in the Barnes County Museum.

The Arlington Square Grand Piano (Boston) was made in the 1860’s and was owned by Lura Livonia Perrine and brought to Valley City in the 1890s when she came to teach at the new college (Valley City Normal School) now known as Valley City State University. It’s one of the first objects donated to the museum when it was founded in 1930 and is a predecessor of the modern piano with a slightly different sound and feel. (It was made long before the modern A440 Standard Pitch.) Due to its unique design and construction, it was deemed not tunable or properly playable. But, Lance Hites has done his best to bring it back to playable condition after over 100 years of silence said Steve King, Barnes County Historical Society board president.

Pianist, Dr. Ozzie Johnson at VCSU instructs the applied piano studio, teaches piano pedagogy as well as the class piano sequence for music majors, coordinates collaborative piano duties, and directs the jazz ensemble. In addition to these duties, Dr. Johnson has a deep interest in composition and music theory. His culminating doctoral project was a multi-movement work for piano which he not only composed and performed but also recorded and mastered. Dr. Johnson is highly active within the piano community in North Dakota, serving as a member of NDMTA and hosting MTNA competitions. He continues to perform as a soloist and artistic collaborator throughout the region. Dr. Johnson received a DA in Piano Performance from Ball State University and holds a MM in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from Ohio University, as well as a BM in Piano Performance from Wheaton College.

On Thursday, April 18th Dr. Johnson will play a number of musical pieces on this historic piano during a special event and fundraiser in the Barnes county Museum starting at 7pm. All are encouraged and welcome to attend. Enjoy wine and bakery treats from Wild Prairie Bakery.

Grand Piano Plays Again

Arlington Grand Piano

Piano made in Boston

Arlington Grand Piano

Owned by Lura Livonia Perrine who was a science and math instructor at Valley City Normal School. She passed away at the age of 64 in 1919 and is buried in Woodbine Cemetery in Valley City. She was born in Michigan in 1855.