HILLSBORO, Mo. – August 24, 2026 — Jefferson College will present Pianomania, a major fundraising concert event, on Sunday, September 20, 2026, as part of a campaign to raise $100,000 for a full-size Steinway grand piano for the College’s newly renovated Fine Arts Center.
The event will feature performances by celebrated pianists in a showcase designed to highlight both exceptional artistry and the transformative impact a world-class instrument can have on students, faculty, and the broader Jefferson County community. All proceeds will support the purchase of the Steinway, which will become a centerpiece of the Fine Arts Center’s performance and instructional spaces.
The Fine Arts Center underwent a significant $6.5 million renovation and expansion that was unveiled earlier this year. The addition of a full-size Steinway grand piano will further elevate the quality of music education, student recitals, guest artist performances, and community concerts held in the facility.
“Pianomania will be an evening of outstanding music and community support,” said Elke Overton, Professor of Music at Jefferson College. “A Steinway grand piano is the gold standard for serious musical training and performance. This instrument will inspire our students for generations and enrich the cultural life of our region.”
Event Details
What: Pianomania – a fundraising concert featuring celebrated pianists
When: Sunday, September 20, 2026, 4 p.m.
Where: Fine Arts Center, Jefferson College Hillsboro campus, 1000 Viking Drive, Hillsboro, MO 63050
Goal: Raise $100,000 for a full-size Steinway grand piano
Tickets can be purchased at jeffco.edu/foundation/events and sponsorships are available. For more information on the event, visit jeffco.edu/music-events/.The public is encouraged to mark their calendars and plan to attend this special evening in support of the arts at Jefferson College.
Meet our “Pianomanians”
Jeong Nam Kim is a local Esse Health pediatrician, devoted amateur pianist, and marathon runner whose return to the piano after a 35-year hiatus was marked by an award at the May 2026 Gateway Piano Festival. She hopes to share the beauty and healing power of music with her young patients while celebrating the profound joy the piano has brought back into her own life.
Mark Spurrier is a retired ophthalmologist and amateur pianist. A private student of Daniel Schene for two years in the late 1990’s, he is most at home as an accompanist and piano ensemble player. Mark is a charter member and advisory board member of the Piano Society of St. Louis. Since 1997 he has organized seven benefit Pianomania concerts for charity including this concert.
Karl Koesterer studied piano at SIU Carbondale under Dr. W. Kent Werner and received his master’s degree in piano pedagogy and performance at Webster University with Dr. Gail Delente. He retired from Webster University after a 40-year career teaching piano. When work used to be a seven-day-a- week affair he was also organist and choir director of the Lafayette Park United Methodist Church and assistant director of the Gateway Men’s Chorus.
Nathan Coleman received BM and master’s degrees at Webster University where he studied with Daniel Schene and Nina Ferrigno. Mr. Coleman has been recognized for his performances of the works of American composer Florence Price and frequently accompanies singers and instrumentalists in the St. Louis region. For the past decade he has accompanied the Sheldon All-Star Chorus under the direction of Girl Conductor, Maria A. Ellis. He is a regular performer at the Christ Church Cathedral noontime recital series.
Donna Bowen Vince holds a BM and Master of Music from Webster University. She joined the piano faculty at Webster University in 1981 after returning from a year of study at L’École Nórmale de Musique in Paris, France. Her affinity with French music no doubt was inspired by her teachers Jules Gentil and Gail Delente. A sought-after teacher, adjudicator, and collaborator, many of her students have successful careers in music, including the local acclaimed pianist, Brian Woods.
Dr. Ruth Price is a writer, lecturer and performer who specializes in teaching adult piano students. She is the author of the book Right Before Your Eyes: A Fresh Approach to Interpreting a Piano Score.
Sue Martin joined the piano faculty of Webster University in 1990 and the piano faculty of Saint Louis University in 1994. She studied undergraduate piano with Professor Mary Mottl at Saint Louis University and graduated from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign with a Master of Music in Piano Performance with teachers Kenneth Drake and Ian Hobson. Sue is Director of Music at Saint Francis Xavier College Church.
Jim Martin makes his appearance in our Pianomania as magician, but by day he is a well-known trombonist and husband of Sue Martin. He is a familiar face in the St. Louis region’s musical scene and directs the St. Charles Community College Bands.
Dr. Jorge Luis Modolell studied piano at the University of Miami and later received a PhD in Musicology from Washington University. He teaches at Webster University’s Community Music School and is a part- time lecturer at Washington University. As a musicologist and scholar, he specializes in the Hungarian composer, Franz Liszt.
Debbie Schwartz has a master’s degree in piano performance pedagogy from Webster University. She, together with her long-time duo-piano partner Phyllis Hyken, is a local expert in piano ensemble repertoire. When not organizing the next pickleball match, she regularly performs at the Chaminade Club and the Piano Society of St. Louis recitals.
Dr. Charl de Wet grew up playing piano and cello. He was a student of Leon Fleisher at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore before switching to medicine. Dr. De Wet is an anesthesiologist and full-time faculty member of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and works in the cardio-thoracic ICU of Barnes-Jewish Hospital. He still finds time for music and has been a frequent finalist and winner of piano competitions around the world.
Pat Cho Comens arrived in the United States from South Korea at the age of 13 years and began piano studies here with Ruth Slenczynska and Gail Delente. Pat holds BM and Master of Music in Piano Performance degrees from The Juilliard School in NYC, where she studied with Ania Dorfmann and Jacob Lateiner. She retired from a rewarding career as piano teacher in St. Louis and indulges her three passions: married life, pursuing piano, and pickleball.
Gill Cerbin began piano studies at the age of six with Ella Pounder, OBE – who herself was a student of the British piano icon, Solomon. With a BA in Modern Languages from Durham University and a Post Graduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) from Cambridge University, Gill is linguistically at home in most European cities. And while she excels in many areas, her true “forte” is collaborative piano. She has served as an active member or officer in multiple regional and national piano teachers’ organizations including MTNA, GAETMA, ISMTA and SLAMTA.
Lisa Van Dusen is a Piano and Spiro Specialist at Steinway Piano Gallery and curator of the monthly Piano Society of St. Louis recitals in the Jane Allen Recital Hall. She is also principal flute of the University City Symphony Orchestra and plays piccolo with the St. Charles Community College Concert Band, under the direction of our own Jim Martin.
Pat Eastman’s musical career has included BM and MM degrees in piano performance and pedagogy, private teaching, serving as judge for countless piano festivals, and enormous contributions to local arts organizations. She was co-founder and co-director of the Webster University Piano Ensemble Festival and Classical Piano Camps. In her role as board member of Pianos for People she helped the organization flourish and gain national notoriety.
Cathy Benton is a bona fide Hall of Famer in her roles as pianist, keyboardist, professor of music, adjudicator, and clinician for keyboard festivals and workshops. Dr. Benton retired in 2022 as Professor of Music at Missouri Baptist University, where she taught for many years. She is currently adjunct piano instructor and collaborator at Jefferson College and music director of the Gateway Ringers. An inductee into the National Guild of Piano Teachers Hall-of-Fame, Dr. Benton has also won the Emerson Excellence in Teaching Award and the MBU Distinguished Professor Award.