Rice was introduced by Representative Tom Lantos, a Democrat from California, who said that the concert was Rice's idea. He said that Rice had said, "We have to do something about this and enhance public consciousness. Let's have a concert, and I will accompany her on the piano."

Rice—whose first name is a variation on the musical term "con dolcezza," which indicates that a work should be played "with sweetness"—began music studies as a small child, and had planned to be a concert pianist before switching to international relations.