LOCAL MUSICIANS TO PERFORM

Four of Southeast Missouri's most well-respected musicians will join each other at the keyboard Thursday evening for "Four Pianos," a concert to benefit the Cape Girardeau River Heritage Museum.

The concert, which will be held at 7:30 in Glenn Auditorium of the Dempster Building on the campus of Southeast Missouri State University, will feature Beverly Reece, Dr. Earl Johnson, Dr. Richard Moore and Richard "Butch" Eggimann.

Tickets for the performance are $5 and will be available at the door on the night of the concert.

Selections by the pianists will include music from Broadway musicals, big band standards from the 1940s and some light jazz classics.

The four pianists will play together on five songs, including "The Song is You," "Someday, My Prince Will Come" and "Our Love is Here to Stay."

In addition, each performer will have the opportunity to play at least one number by himself. Johnson will play "That's a Plenty." Eggimann will play three songs, including "Stairway to the Stars."

Moore's solos will include "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes." Reece will solo on three songs, including "Christmastime Is Here," a jazz number made popular from "A Charlie Brown Christmas."

Organizers are hoping to raise $3,000 through the concert and other donations to benefit the River Heritage Museum's recent renovations.

The museum, newly renovated by students from Southeast Missouri State University's historic preservation program under the direction of professor Bob White, includes a new exhibit, "Show Me Missouri!"

The exhibit includes "Missouri's Betsy Ross," a display about Marie Oliver of Cape Girardeau, who designed the state flag; "You've Got to Show Me," a tribute to the man who popularized Missouri's moniker of the "Show Me State," Willard Vandiver, a Congressman and former president of the Normal School, now Southeast Missouri State University; and "Alive and Kicking," chronicling the historical importance of the Missouri mule.