Melissa Coppola takes new Video Studio Steinway grand piano into the cosmos

Melissa Coppola performs her composition on the new Steinway grand piano, donated to the DMC Video Studio by the Demeulemeester family

Update: Wednesday, July 8, 2021

Melissa Coppola’s doctoral thesis “Lights in Sky”, a multimedia concert inspired by the cosmos, premieres Sunday, July 11, 2021, 2:30 PM at the Stamps Auditorium, Penny Stamps School of Art and Design on te U-M Ann Arbor Campus

“In March 2020, COVID-19 forced me to cancel a space-inspired performance at the Planetarium & Dome Theater at the University of Michigan Museum of Natural History. Thanks to the Duderstadt Video Studio and their phenomenal team, I was able to realize this program as a virtual concert, featuring musical selections by Urmas Sisask, György Ligeti, Claude Debussy, Missy Mazzoli, and George Crumb, along with stunning visuals from the dome, NASA, and European Southern Observatory. (Four-hand works feature guest pianist Justin Snyder.)”

Melissa Coppola


Originally posted May 17, 2021


Melissa Coppola, a DMA candidate in the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance (SOMTD), is launching the “new-to-the-Video Studio” Steinway grand piano into outer space with her composition “Lights in the Sky“. Recently, she rehearsed for the studio recording of the multimedia performance in the Video Studio, backdropped by images from across the galaxy.

The Steinway grand found its new home in the Video Studio earlier this year as the outcome of a gift to the U-M by the Demeulemeester family and a collaboration between SOMTD, and the Digital Media Commons (DMC) Media and Studio Arts staff (see the original post: “When it rains it pours… pianos?”).

Melissa received her MM in piano performance from the University of Michigan and is currently a 4th-year DMA candidate studying under Professor Logan Skelton. See more about Melissa’s professional journey in her roles as doctoral candidate, professional performer, musician-entrepreneur, and recording artist at Melissa Coppola.

Melissa Coppola, a DMA candidate in the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance (SOMTD) is shown performing her composition, "Lights in the Sky" in the Video Studio.

image by Jacques Mersereau

Melissa Coppola, a DMA candidate in the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance (SOMTD) Playing on the Steinway grand piano, recently installed in the Video Studio.

image by Jacques Mersereau

image by David Greenspan

See the original post about how this Steinway grand piano made its home in the Duderstadt Center Video Studio and was restored to concert performance quality by staff from SOMTD and the DMC Media and Studio Arts staff: “When it rains it pours… pianos?”