Associate Artistic Director Janet Vernon said although the piece is completely inspired by the grand piano, it was also partly dedicated to Murphy's mother.
"The whole theme was really a tribute to his mom who passed away, she always had the piano in the house," she said.
Vernon said the five-week tour has been going well and this will mark the first time since 1997 that the dance company has performed at Penn State.
"We've had some very emotional audiences on the tour," she said. "The response has been very warm, and [we've received] very loud applause and standing ovations everywhere."
With strong emphasis on the piano, the show will hopefully draw music aficionados, Laura Sullivan, marketing and communications director for Penn State's Center for the Performing Arts, said.
"Next season I think there will be some very interesting [acts], and we are focusing our efforts on dance," she said. "I think that Grand is kind of leading us in that direction."
During a podcast interview, Center for the Performing Arts PreViews editor John Rafacz spoke by phone with choreographer Graeme Murphy about Grand and the purpose behind it.
"The inspiration for the entire work, I mean the entire work -- the design, musical aspects, even the dance -- is an impressionistic rendition of what a piano is," Murphy said.
"The piano is at the heart of this work, and for me, a very personal connection is that my mother was a pianist who was incredibly instrumental in my career and my love of music which led to my career in dance."
Murphy said although there are piano pieces ranging from jazz pieces to waltzes, and the mood often shifts from somber to light hearted, the work in its entirety is cohesive and tied together by the percussion instrument, an intricate part of the performance. Vernon said Murphy is a "forward thinking choreographer."
"The work is structured in such a way where each score has a different personality," she said. "We've been working on [the performance] and polishing it, and it's been great."
