Casio Celebrates Music At 8th Annual Make Music New York Event

DOVER, N.J., June 17, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Casio America, Inc. is pulling out all the stops for National Music Day on June 21st by participating in the 8th annual Make Music New York event for the second consecutive year. As one of the nation's largest annual music events, Make Music New York holds over 1,000 live concerts that create music and harmony throughout the city. This year, in conjunction with the event, Casio will spotlight its' Privia Piano Bar, which features a pianist playing live music.

"We, at Casio, are committed to bringing the joy of music to people of all ages and talent levels by not only offering high-quality electronic musical instruments for them to play, but experiences that engage them on a deeper level," said Stephen Schmidt, Vice President of Casio's Electronic Musical Instruments Division. "We are thrilled to return to Make Music New York this year with our Privia Piano Bar, where music-lovers will spend the day celebrating music by hearing the timeless classics from Billy Joel played on our Privia Pro PX-5S."

Sponsored by Casio, the Privia Piano Bar will drive through the streets of New York City with accomplished British pianist, Simon Mulligan, who will play songs from Grammy-winning artist Billy Joel live on a Privia Pro PX-5S stage piano. The Privia Piano Bar truck will stop for one hour sets at five partner venues where Mulligan will accompany anyone interested in belting out a Billy Joel tune. The Privia Piano Bar will start outside of Symphony Space on West 95th Street, work its way to Casio's G-Shock Soho store and end up outside of Madison Square Garden where Casio will engage dedicated Billy Joel fans waiting in line for the concert being held that evening. As an added bonus, participants in the Privia Piano Bar will be invited to leave their contact information for a chance to win house seats to Billy Joel's concert that night at Madison Square Garden.

Following the conclusion of Billy Joel's concert, at 11PM fans and passersby will be invited to Make Music New York's After Dark party at Local West, a bar located outside of Madison Square Garden. To keep the party going, Simon Mulligan will continue to play and facilitate a Billy Joel themed sing-along with the Privia Pro PX-5S.

The newly developed Privia Pro PX-5S is a genuine stage piano, advanced MIDI controller and performance instrument packed with functions that set it apart from other digital pianos. Equipped with Casio's new proprietary sound source, "AiR" (Acoustic and intelligent Resonator), the PX-5S delivers acoustic piano sounds with unmatched realism and detail. The power of AiR is also applied to an all new set of authentic vintage electric piano sounds and clavinets that is paired by a powerful new effects engine giving the PX-5S an arsenal of both acoustic and electric piano sounds.

In a remarkable 24-pound package it is also a four-zone performance controller, complete with 4 assignable knobs, 6 assignable sliders, 2 pedal inputs, pitch and modulation wheels. 4 independent and programmable arpeggiators allow the PX-5S to expand in to sonic territory by creating an array of animated textures. A phrase sequencer allows the performer to trigger sequences and riffs which can be triggered and transpose on the fly, allowing for unheard of performances by a single musician. Casio's PX-5S even provides the ability to record a 44.1kHz .wav file directly to a USB thumb drive so that rehearsals, performances and moments of inspiration can be easily captured and shared.

To learn more about Casio's full portfolio of electronic musical instruments, please visit www.CasioMusicGear.com. For more information about the Privia Piano Bar at Make Music New York, please visit http://www.casiomusicgear.com/resource/html/index.html.

About Casio America, Inc.
Casio America, Inc., Dover, N.J., is the U.S. subsidiary of Casio Computer Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, one of the world's leading manufacturers of consumer electronics and business equipment solutions. Established in 1957, Casio America, Inc. markets calculators, keyboards, digital cameras, mobile presentation devices, disc title and label printers, watches, cash registers and other consumer electronic products. Casio has strived to fulfill its corporate creed of "creativity and contribution" through the introduction of innovative and imaginative products. For more information, visit www.CasioUSA.com.

SOURCE Casio America, Inc.