National News

Playing Organ at Church Paved Way to Carnegie Hall

Richard Steinbach
Richard Steinbach

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (CNS) – Others may respond to the query, “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” with “Practice, practice, practice!” Richard Steinbach of Sioux City points to playing the organ for Mass while in grade school. That was the foundation for his recent solo concert at the New York City performance venue. The concert evolved out of an international music project Steinbach launched in 2013 called “The Fusion Project.”

“The project began with a solo concert tour of South America in 2013, followed by a new recording project in 2014,” said the music professor, who is on the faculty at Franciscan-run Briar Cliff University.

“I had been working closely on the project with Juliet Everist (a prominent supporter of the arts in the region). Juliet is the executive producer of ‘The Fusion Project,’ and we decided the most exciting way to release the new ‘Fusion’ CD would be to premiere it at Carnegie Hall in New York City.”

Through the project, Steinbach was able to collect and record unique contemporary music from around the world.