7 minute read
Fall Music Events
Fall Music
FACULTY RECITAL MUSICAL INNOVATORS: PROKOFIEV AND SHOSTAKOVICH
GREGORY PARKER, BARITONE ANNA BILLIAS, PIANO Sunday, September 12, 2021 3 p.m. Wilson Concert Hall
No tickets are required. • Performance will be streamed. https://livestream.com/wlu
Sergei Prokofiev was one of many composers looking to shed the trappings of romanticism and open new vistas in musical expression. Likewise, Dmitri Shostakovich, 15 years younger than Prokofiev, combined an eclectic array of compositional techniques into his works.
In this recital, Billias and Parker will present works by these two innovative composers. Selections include Prokofiev’s Three Romances After Pushkin, with texts that include the proletarian subjects that were more common in the composer’s songs after his return to the Soviet Union in 1936. Also, Dr. Billias will play his Fifth Piano Sonata, which features surprisingly light colors and a clarity not typical of Prokofiev’s overall tone. Shostakovich will be represented by his Three Fantastic Dances for piano with its grotesque and exquisite harmonies as well as a selection of preludes from his Opus 34.
In addition, Parker and Billias will present Shostakovich’s Four Romances on Poems by Pushkin, which feature the dark themes of an oppressed artist, something he truly was at this point in his career.
FACULTY RECITAL FRENCH ORGAN MUSIC FROM ACROSS THE CENTURIES: COMPOSITIONS BY GREAT ORGANISTS OF PARIS, ROUEN AND REIMS
WILLIAM MCCORKLE
No tickets are required. • Performance will be streamed. https://www.lexpres.org
The lovely C. B. Fisk pipe organ at Lexington Presbyterian Church is the vehicle for a program of music featuring the distinctive but changing sounds of French organs over three centuries, including compositions of great organists from Rouen (Jacques Please connect at 2:50 p.m. through the Lexington Presbyterian Boyvin) and Reims (Nicolas de Grigny), and of several Church website https://www.lexpres.org. Join by clicking the “Live great Parisians (Louis Vierne, Jean Langlais, Maurice on YouTube” icon located on the top of the home page. Duruflé and Olivier Messiaen). my.wlu.edu/music 21
CHORAL CONCERT
Tickets are free, but required and available only to current W&L students and families. Tickets become available Tuesday, September 28. • Performance will be streamed. https://livestream.com/wlu
Come kick off the first live, public choral event in over 18 months at W&L (hopefully!) with the University Singers, The Glee Club and Cantatrici. Featuring the music of Bach, Rheinberger and a new work, Galaxias, by the exciting Argentinian composer Santiago Veros— this concert will be a joyous return to public singing with exciting music to match.
These concerts will also serve as a showcase for Cantatrici’s new conductor, Lacey R. Lynch, who will take the reins of the ensemble. The University Singers will delight with Samo Vovk’s incredible Ta Na Solbici, a Slovenian work complete with body percussion. Traditional favorites will round out the evening, finally closing with James Erb’s Shenandoah.
INSTRUMENTAL ENSEMBLE CONCERT
No tickets are required. • Performance will be streamed. https://livestream.com/wlu
Enjoy the University Jazz Ensemble, University Orchestra and University Wind Ensemble as they perform a combined concert as part of Parents and Family Weekend 2021.
Tickets are free, but required. Tickets become available Tuesday, September 28. • Performance will be streamed. https://livestream.com/wlu
An evening of choral music presented by the University Singers, The Glee Club and Cantatrici will feature music of Bach, Rheinberger and a new work Galaxias, by the exciting Argentinian composer Santiago Veros—this concert will be a joyous return to public singing with exciting music to match. These concerts will also serve as a showcase for Cantatrici’s new conductor, Lacey R. Lynch, who will take the reins of the ensemble. The University Singers will delight with Samo Vovk’s incredible Ta Na Solbici, a Slovenian work complete with body percussion. Traditional favorites will round out the evening, finally closing with James Erb’s Shenandoah.
FACULTY RECITAL: A GOTHIC ROMANCE
SCOTT WILLIAMSON, TENOR ANNA BILLIAS, PIANO
No tickets are required. • Performance will be streamed. https://livestream.com/wlu
Tenor Scott Williamson and pianist Anna Billias present a recital of seasonal music featuring The Poet’s Echo, a rarely-heard work by Benjamin Britten, featuring Alexander Pushkin’s verse. Russia’s beloved author is also the source of Tchaikovsky’s arias for the poet Lensky in his melodramatic tragedy, Eugene Onegin.
Romantic art songs and theater songs are among the other entertainments of this eclectic program for Halloween.
You are invited to join the artists in costume attire.
No tickets are required. • Performance will be streamed. https://livestream.com/wlu
The University Wind Ensemble performs their fall concert, Catharsis, with music that was a salve for many of the ensemble members during the pandemic crisis that took our Winter 2020 concert from us. Featuring the delayed world premiere of Catharsis by Nicole Piunno and beloved works by Jennifer Jolley, Donald Grantham and Eric Whitacre, this concert will be sure to provide a beautiful respite after troubling times.
No tickets are required. • Performance will be streamed. https://livestream.com/wlu
The annual fall concert with the University Jazz Ensemble and the Vosbein Magee Big Band is always a treat. The UJE opens the evening’s presentation, showcasing the talented student musicians, playing music from throughout the long history of jazz.
After intermission, the Vosbein Magee Big Band takes the stage. The VMBB presents some of the finest professional jazz musicians, from the valley and beyond, and features music written by band members. A tradition at each fall UJE concert has the senior members of the band sharing the stage with the pro band to honor them and to celebrate their achievements.
MARLBROOKCHAMBERPLAYERS MUSIC OF SPAIN: RHYTHMS AND PASSION
No tickets are required. • Performance will be streamed. https://livestream.com/wlu
Megan Mason, viola Anna Billias, piano Julia Goudimova, cello Jaime McArdle, violin
This fall, allow yourself a musical trip through the passionate and sensitive music of Spain! The Marlbrook Players invite our audience to a journey through Spain by playing various, passionate selections performed by the Quartet. We will introduce you to the world of Flamenco compás, tour the fragrant Valencia rose gardens, and show you the spirited nights and misty mornings of the Pyrenees mountains... All of that and more will be heard in the music of famous Spanish composers, with Joaquin Turina’s Quartet in A Minor, Op. 67, as the central piece of the program.
No tickets are required. • Performance will be streamed. https://livestream.com/wlu
Join the University Orchestra for a concert of music from the past reimagined. Included will be living composer Adolphus Hailstork’s Sonata di Chiesa, William Grant Still’s Danzas de Panama and Schubert’s iconic Symphony No. 1. Also featured will be a new one-movement piano concerto by Marcus Maroney that will feature new piano instructor, Dr. Akiko Konishi, as soloist. The UO looks forward to presenting historic forms in new ways. Join us for a time travel adventure!
Monday, December 6, 2021 Tuesday, December 7, 2021 7 p.m. Wilson Concert Hall
• Performance will be streamed. https://livestream.com/wlu Tickets are required. Tickets are free with non-perishable food or monetary donation to Campus Kitchen. Tickets can be reserved online. Monetary donations may be made online, while food donations are required in-person at the Lenfest Box Office during open hours.
Tickets available beginning Tuesday, November 9, 2021.
The box office will be closed during W&L Thanksgiving break, November 22-26, 2021.
The Holiday Pops Concert will feature various ensembles from the Department of Music performing numerous pieces of music which are representative of the holiday season. Included on the program will be individual group performances, massed ensemble pieces and a variety of student conductors. Join us for a wonderful evening of music to help kick off the holiday season! non-perishable food or monetary donation for each Holiday Pops ticket at our box office during regular hours beginning Tuesday, November 9.
All goods and funds collected will be donated to W&L Campus Kitchen, an organization that recovers and reuses food for the purpose of providing balanced meals for low-income members of the Rockbridge County community.
