The Argument
Albion’s best Saturday afternoon this fall is free, indoors, and hiding in a chapel. On Saturday, October 24, 2026 at 4:00 p.m., Albion College presents a piano trio recital in Goodrich Chapel: violinist Ji Hyun Kim, an Albion music faculty member, with guest artists Stefan Koch on cello and Patrick Johnson on piano — all three members of the Lansing Symphony Orchestra. The program pairs Brahms with Amy Beach, adds Richard Stöhr’s Vier Phantasiestücke for cello and piano, and includes a Fernande Decruck pavane that Kim herself transcribed as part of her research into lesser-known women composers. Admission is free, everyone is welcome, and the musicians stay afterward for questions. For Albion neighbors, this is the college at its most open — no ticket, no tuition, just the music.
The Performers
FACT (Albion College): The recital features Albion College music faculty member Ji Hyun Kim on violin with guest artists Stefan Koch on cello and Patrick Johnson on piano, and all three are members of the Lansing Symphony Orchestra; the concert is part of the musicians’ Michigan concert tour.
FACT (Albion College): The recital takes place Saturday, October 24, 2026, at 4:00 PM in Goodrich Chapel, admission is free, and all are welcome.
The Program: Canon Meets Recovery
FACT (Albion College): The afternoon features piano trios by Johannes Brahms and Amy Beach, along with Richard Stöhr’s Vier Phantasiestücke for cello and piano, in a program of beloved classics and rediscovered gems, including works brought back to life through the performers’ own research and scholarship.
FACT (Albion College): The recital also features Fernande Decruck’s Pavane for violin and piano, recently transcribed by Ji Hyun Kim as part of her research into lesser-known works by women composers.
COMMENTARY: That program construction is the story. Brahms anchors the afternoon; Amy Beach — the American composer whose works have steadily returned to concert programs — stands beside him as a peer, not a novelty; and the Decruck exists on this stage at all because the violinist did archival transcription work herself. “Rediscovered gems” is a phrase programs print easily, but here it is literal: scholarship first, performance second, audience invited to hear the result the same afternoon.
Stay for the Questions
FACT (Albion College): A Q&A session with the musicians follows the concert.
COMMENTARY: The Q&A is the detail Albion residents should not skip past. Chamber recitals usually end at the applause; this one continues into conversation with three working orchestral musicians, one of whom can explain, in her own words, how a forgotten pavane by a French composer gets from an archive to a chapel in Albion, Michigan. For local students especially — string players, pianists, anyone curious about music as a profession — that half hour may be worth as much as the concert. Goodrich Chapel, Saturday at four: arrive as a neighbor, leave knowing the performers by name.
COMMENTARY: There is a wider point here about what a small college does for its town. Albion College’s chapel sits a short walk from downtown Albion homes, and a free Saturday recital by touring professionals is the kind of amenity residents of much larger cities pay subscription prices to hear. Because this stop is part of a Michigan tour, Albion is not receiving a diluted version of the program — the same Brahms and Beach being played elsewhere in the state arrives here intact, in a room built for exactly this scale of music. All the college asks in return is an audience. Showing up is the whole transaction, and it is a good trade for the town.
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where is the Albion piano trio recital?
Saturday, October 24, 2026, at 4:00 PM in Goodrich Chapel at Albion College (FACT: Albion College).
How much does it cost?
Admission is free, and all are welcome (FACT: Albion College).
Who is performing?
Albion College faculty violinist Ji Hyun Kim with guest artists Stefan Koch (cello) and Patrick Johnson (piano) — all members of the Lansing Symphony Orchestra, performing as part of their Michigan concert tour (FACT: Albion College).
What will they play?
Piano trios by Brahms and Amy Beach, Richard Stöhr’s Vier Phantasiestücke for cello and piano, and Fernande Decruck’s Pavane for violin and piano, transcribed by Kim; a Q&A with the musicians follows (FACT: Albion College).
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