Name: Music & More: Jon Hays, Pianist
Start: 2025-09-21T14:00:00-08:00
Location: 915 2nd Ave, Fairbanks, AK, United States, Alaska 99701

Fairbanks First United Methodist Church continues its monthly Music & More series with a piano recital by popular Juneau virtuoso Jon Hays. The recital will take place in the sanctuary, 915 Second Avenue, at 2 PM, Sunday, September 21, 2025. The start time has been shifted one hour earlier than previously announced.
Jon Hays started teaching himself piano and basic music theory at the age of 15. A little over a year later, he began participating in masterclasses with Dr. Alexander Tutunov and took private lessons with Mary Watson. Jon went on to pursue a Bachelor of Music Performance at Southern Oregon University with Dr. Tutunov's guidance and then attained his Master's of Music at the University of Alaska Fairbanks under the direction of Dr. Eduard Zilberkant. He also participated in the Chinese American International Piano Institute at the University of Florida, the International Keyboard Institute and Festival at the Hunter School of Music, and the Piano Plus Festival at the Ionian University in Corfu, Greece. His program for September 21 includes four ballades by Johannes Brahms and Franz Liszt’s Sonata in B minor.
Jon has crafted a varied career in music. Activities have included solo and chamber recitals, accompaniment for opera and musical productions, private teaching, and coaching high school students. Most notably, Jon founded the Juneau Piano Series in collaboration with the Juneau Arts and Humanities Council and has been managing that endeavor since 2018. Other projects have included recording a concert of multi-piano works by Japanese-Alaskan composer Etsuko Kimura Pederson, and working as the rehearsal pianist for the world premiere of The Princess Sophia by Alaskan composer Emerson Eads.
Music & More, now in its fourth year, provides family-oriented entertainment in an acoustically superb setting that is safe and convenient. While most of the performances feature music, other types of talents are offered some months. No admission is charged; donations are encouraged, with most of the amounts collected provided to the guest entertainers.