Pianist Brian Ray will present a recital of Russian music as the opening event for the "25 Years of Russian Studies at Rhodes" year-long celebration. Free and open to the public, the recital will take place at 7:30 p.m. in Hardie Auditorium of Palmer Hall. It is co-sponsored by the Russian Studies/Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, and the Department of Music.

Ray will perform works by Glinka, Rubinstein, Tchaikovsky, Lyadov, Scriabin and Rachmaninoff that trace the development of the Italian bel canto tradition in 19th- and early 20th-century Russian piano music.

In addition to his work as an adjunct instructor of piano and departmental collaborative pianist in the Rhodes Department of Music, Ray has taught piano at Christian Brothers University and class piano at The University of Memphis. He recently completed his doctoral dissertation on the solo piano works of the Austrian composer Joseph Marx.

Ray also has regularly performed recitals of the Russian and French repertoire, and in 2005 presented a recital of works by Sergei Rachmaninoff at the Rhodes International Rachmaninoff Conference.

The "25 Years of Russian Studies at Rhodes" celebration is intended to honor students, faculty, departments and programs at the college as well as various partners in the Memphis community who have supported Russian Studies at Rhodes.

For more information about the recital or celebration, call (901) 843-3743.