Two Music Events This Weekend
To add a musical touch to the beginning
of the spring semester, the Sam Houston State School of Music will
host an orchestra and percussion performance on Friday, as well
as an opera workshop on Saturday and Sunday.
The Chamber Orchestra and the Percussion Ensemble, both comprised
of about 35 SHSU students, along with SHSU faculty will perform
Johann Sebastian Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 2, Georges Bizet's
Carmen Suite and Michael O'Leary's arrangement of 12th Street
Rag in the Killinger Auditorium on Jan. 17.
The Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 will feature SHSU professors
Randal Adams, playing trumpet; Kathryn Daniel, playing flute;
Spring Hill, playing oboe; Andrew Wilson, playing Violin; Peter
Kempter, playing violoncello; and Jay Whatley, playing harpsichord.
Carmen Suite, will incorporate the string and the percussion
ensemble, and the 12th Street Rag will include a violin solo
by SHSU senior Josh Smith.
"Schedrin arranges Bozet's Carmen in a magically clever way,
because the tunes of Bizet's opera are familiar to the common
ear," said Carol Smith, Chamber Orchestra conductor. "Schedrin
twists the themes around to add an element of surprise.
"This manipulation of these themes in particular allows the
listener to become involved in the music. The instrumentation
is unique and, quite simply, the result is exciting music."
The concert will also be used as a recruiting tool for prospective
music students, as the troupe will also perform a Northeast Texas
Tour on Jan. 22, at Kilgore High School and the Tyler Independent
School District. They will also give a Houston Area Tour on Jan.
23 for students at the Pasadena, Klein and Cypress-Fairbanks
Independent School Districts.
"Our purpose is to take really great music to public schools
and perform for students we feel will make good candidates for
prospective students," Smith said. Admission is free for SHSU
students and children under 12. Tickets will cost $8 for adults
and $5 for students under 12.
On Jan. 18, 17 music majors will perform scenes from well-known
operas in the SHSU Recital Hall beginning at 7:30 p.m., with
an encore performance on Jan. 19 at 2:30 p.m.
"This is a culmination of the work they have done," said Mary
Kay Lake, workshop director. "They did quite a bit of work on
the development on their acting and singing skills though a variety
of exercises, and this production is pulling together those acquired
skills in a performance setting."
Scenes from The Marriage of Figaro, The Merry Wives of Windsor,
Signor Deluso, The Ballad of Baby Doe, La Perichole, The Daughter
of the Regiment and The Tender Land, will all be sung in English.
"The scenes (from each opera) were chosen based on the theme
'Husbands and Wives and Friends and Lovers,'" Lake said, "but
keeping in mind the stage development, both from a vocal and
acting standpoint, of the students, so it would be challenging,
but not so demanding that it wasn't within the scope of their
abilities."
Even if you have never been to an opera and are unfamiliar
with the experience, Lake said you should not hesitate to attend
the production.
"It is going to be entertaining," she said. "It's in English,
and it should be something everyone will enjoy."
Tickets for the opera workshop are free for students and senior
citizens and will be $5 for general admission. For more information,
call the School of Music office at 294-1360.
- END -
SHSU Media Contact: Jennifer
Gauntt
Jan. 14, 2003
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