The Petersburg Arts Council is flying in a pair of classical musicians from Arizona to perform for the town’s Little Norway Festival on May 17. It’s their last stop on their tour up and down the Panhandle.
KFSK’s Shelby Herbert has the story on the Rice Brothers, who bill themselves as “America’s most charismatic virtuosos,” and promise to charm audiences with their personalities, as well as their music.
From Disneyland to Carnegie Hall, the pair have hauled their instruments all over the world. But Chris said this week marks the first time they’ll have to try to strap a cello down in a seaplane, on their way into Petersburg.
“They said we would just be able to load it in the back of the plane,” said Chris. “When we called we said, can we buy a seat for it? And they said: ‘No, that’s not how this works. Have you seen one of our planes? It’ll be fine — you just put it in the back of the plane’.”
Johnny Rice said that’s a large departure from their normal traveling experience.
“We only bring one, because every time we get on a flight, the cello buys a seat,” said Johnny. “Not only that, it must be a window seat. God forbid anything happens — it can’t be blocking anybody’s escape route. So, I go up to the TSA counter with one boarding pass that says ‘Johnny Rice’ and one that says ‘Cello Rice.'”
The Arizona-based musicians have been performing in Alaska for weeks — from Valdez to Skagway. And, so far, Chris said they’re having a blast.
“Being desert-dwellers, it’s rather shocking to see the scenery that we see every day when we’re up here!” said Chris. “We’re used to subtle shades of brown.”
They’re primarily classical musicians. But they got their start with ragtime when they were kids. They met a ragtime piano player at Disneyland, who took them in as his pupils.
“So when we tell our classical musician friends that we got our earliest roots are in ragtime, they look at us and they say, ‘It’s like you’re raised by wolves or something!'” said Chris.
This isn’t their first rodeo in Petersburg. But it is their first time attending the Little Norway Festival, and they’re bracing for all the chaos and excitement that entails. They’re ready to join in the town’s annual celebration of all things Norwegian with a few pieces from Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg. The brothers will also perform a spread of classical hits, from Beethoven to Chopin to Gershwin.
Altogether, Johnny said they’re both thrilled to come back to Petersburg after five years, and what feels like six lifetimes. Their last performance here was right before the COVID-19 pandemic started.
“…And then everything shut down, and we hardly performed for a couple of years,” said Johnny. “Pretty much the entire arts world had a two year hiatus. But we’re delighted to be back now!”
The brothers’ cello did make it in safely on the seaplane, and their performance is scheduled for tonight at 7:00 p.m. at the Lutheran Church. Admission is $15 and benefits the Petersburg Arts Council.
