MENOMINEE, MICH. – River Cities Concert Association (RCCA) presents the Rice Brothers — cello and piano — on Friday, May 1, at Blesch Auditorium in Menominee, Mich., at 7 p.m.. This final concert of the 2025 – 2026 season is sponsored by Akins Pianocraft and Field & Forest Products.
Despite not having “a whit of musical skill,” the parents of Johnny and Chris Rice recognized their sons were both drawn to music from a very young age. It was during a trip from their hometown of Phoenix, Ariz., to Disneyland that three-year-old Johnny was mesmerized by pianist Johnny Hodges who was playing ragtime and boogie woogie on Main Street.
When asked by his dad if he wanted to learn to play the piano, young Johnny responded with a heartfelt “Yes!”
Lessons started at age four, and soon it was apparent that this boy had a real gift for music. Little brother Chris, not wanting to be left out, started piano lessons at the age of two.
Before long, they both began learning cello as well. Soon, the Rice brothers were being invited to play music at family gatherings, church events, schools and retirement communities.
In addition to igniting their early passion for music, Hodges would be the first among several world-class teachers to mentor the two brothers, including having the boys perform at Disneyland as part of their training.
They were both accepted into the studio of internationally renowned pianist and Arizona State University Professor Robert Hamilton. Studies with Director of Piano at the Vienna Conservatory Johannes Kropfitsch contributed to their deep exploration into the nuances that allow the highest levels of musicality to blossom.
On cello, they received more than a decade of rigorous training from Taki Atsumi, long-time president of the American Cello Congress and professor at Arizona State University. The Rice Brothers also received coaching from international and Grammy-winning cellist icons Eugene Friesen and Mstislav Rostropovich, the latter who once said to their father, “You need to understand… your sons are massively talented!”
Full of energy, commitment, charisma and armed with the finest of training — as well as each being winners of gold medals in an international Chopin competition — the Rice Brothers emerged onto the world stage as inspiring artists.
They were invited to perform their debut concert in New York City’s Carnegie Hall, where their performance thrilled the audience and elicited multiple standing ovations.
Since then, they have toured extensively across the United States and Europe, performing in multiple settings, from large performing arts centers and house concerts to churches, elder care facilities and classroom settings, charming audiences of all ages with their friendly and casual demeanor while enchanting them with their musical virtuosity.
They have also recorded three CDs and are both private music teachers in Phoenix, where they enjoy sharing what they have learned with both children and adult students, including the connection that is possible between people through the arts.
The Rice brothers are partial to the music of the masters, but Disneyland’s Johnny Hodges’s ragtime has stuck with them. Because of that early encounter and subsequent exposure to a diverse range of musical influences, the Rice Brothers have always loved performing the full spectrum of great music for their audiences, knowing its power to communicate with and transform a listener.
Virginia Carlson, president of Sunday Afternoon Live in Raymond, Wash., described the Rice Brothers, “From the minute Chris and Johnny entered our community’s city limits, the goodwill emanated from them like a magnetic pull. Of course, the musicianship on the piano and the cello was stellar. One can read the rave reviews and awards of the Rice Brothers, but to actually sit back and feel the folks in the auditorium being pulled into the musical experience with the fascinating stories about the composers, the culture, hear the personal connection of the brothers’ Polish family history and feel a lifting of one’s spirits is an experience to be treasured.”
Such an experience is what RCCA concertgoers can expect when the Rice Brothers come to town and perform at Blesch Auditorium (a barrier-free venue) at the Menominee Elementary School in Menominee, Mich., on May 1 at 7 p.m.
This last concert of the season is not to be missed. Single tickets will be available at the door. Adults $30 and students $8 (cash or check only). For more information, contact Barb Akins by calling (906) 863-7387 or visit www.rcconcerts.com.
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