The Cerritos College Music Department and the Associated Students of Cerritos College presented the Piano Concert and Lecture Series “Do You Hear What I Hear?” on Oct. 19 with guest pianist Althea Waites of California State University Long Beach.

The lecture preceding the performance was presented by Director of the Applied Music and Piano Studies Christine Lopez.

Waites has been acclaimed throughout the United States, Europe and Asia as a brilliant soloist.

She performed Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Prelude and Fugue in E flat Major,” Curt Cacioppo’s “Mitleid” and Franz Liszt “Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen.”

She is currently on the keyboard faculty at Cal State Long Beach and knows the importance of good learning about music for students.

“Students have to practice and really actively pay attention to everything.”

Lopez also gave a brief of what’s important about the pieces and the history of each composer’s personal life and musical career.

“Students have to practice and really actively pay attention to everything. I said to my students, You cannot practice like driving down the road looking at scenery. You just see little things. You have to listen to everything,” Waites said.

Piano major Rocheelle Boyce said, “This is my first time being here, and it was really good.”

The next performance in the series will be at BC 51 on Nov. 9 from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.