On December 1, 2012, Distinguished Research Professors Marilyn Shrude and John Sampen visited Kent, Ohio as special guests for Kent State University’s  “John Cage Celebration.”   Shrude and Sampen’s lecture presentation was entitled “In Celebration: John Cage and the Saxophone” and was followed immediately by a performance of Cage’s composition FOUR 5 as directed by BGSU alumni Dr. Jeff Heisler.

This Kent State lecture was a repeat performance of Shrude/Sampen’s presentation at the World Saxophone Congress in Scotland last summer.  Included in their talk were specific details and film footage from Cage’s residence at BGSU in 1986 as well as television interviews with Dr. Shrude and a discussion of Cage’s subsequent commission for Sampen and the BGSU saxophone class.  FOUR 5 was one of John Cage’s last compositions before he died in 1992.

In addition to the featured lecture, Dr. Shrude also presented a guest masterclass for the Kent State composition department.