Chad Twedt not only knows how to please any audience with his musical selections, but he also knows how to be an entertainer. This is not grandma’s elevator music playing at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Valhalla Boathouse Theater. It’s piano playing that hypnotizes.

The pianist and original composer was classically trained from age 6 through private lessons. After receiving his bachelor’s degree in piano performance and a bachelor of arts in mathematics from University of Nevada, Reno, in 1999; in 2001 to earn his master’s degree in piano performance.

Although Twedt never thought of himself as a composer, he has more than proved himself with his original album “Ostinato,” his debut recording that includes four movements of inspirational virtuosity. The unusually diverse appeal of his music comes from his unique blend of classical background and his non-standard musical influences, extending to new age, alternative and even techno.

Tickets are $18 general admission and $5 for children 12 and under. For additional information and tickets call April Sutton, director of performance events, at (530) 416-0337 or (530) 541-4975 or e-mail poetess120@yahoo.com. The Tahoe Tallac Association is located three miles northeast of South Lake Tahoe on Highway 89.

Twedt’s past solo repertoire is well-rounded, playing baroque and various styles of tonal contemporary music. He mastered some of the most demanding solo repertoire, including Chopin’s “Third Sonata,” Alkan’s “Le Festin d’Esope,” Liebermann’s “Gargoyles,” Schubert’s “Wanderer” Fantasy, Beethoven’s “Appassionata” Sonata and Stravinsky’s “Three Movements from Petrushka,” including his own additions and changes to “Petrushka,” which made sections of the piece sound closer to its original orchestration but also made it more challenging to play.