Monthly Archives: February 2016

Early Music Ensemble Invited to Nationally Acclaimed Festival

BGSU Early Music Ensemble[2] (1)

BGSU’s Early Music Ensemble, under the direction of Dr. Arne Spohr, has been selected by Early Music America to perform at Early Music America’s Young Performers Festival in Berkeley, CA. This nationally recognized festival will be featuring top university early music ensembles from around the United States, including groups from Indiana University, University of Southern California, Case Western Reserve University, and Brigham Young University Idaho. All performances will take place at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church from June 8th – 10th as part of the Berkeley Music Festival.

Professors Papanikolaou and Merritt presenitng pre-performance talks at Toledo Opera’s production of Porgy and Bess

 

porgyandbess

Eftychia Papanikolaou, Associate Professor of Musicology, and Myra Merritt, Professor of Voice, will present two pre-performance talks at Toledo Opera’s production of George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, Friday, February 12 at 6:30 p.m. and Sunday, February 14 at 1 p.m. in the Grand Lobby of the Valentine Theatre.

For more information please visit:

http://www.toledoopera.org/events/main/porgy-bess/

http://www.toledoopera.org/learn/pre-opera-talks/

Steinway Artist headlines Dubois Piano Festival

BOWLING GREEN, O. – Bowling Green State University will host American pianist and Steinway Artist Spencer Myer for the annual David D. Dubois Piano Festival and Competition, Feb. 12-14.

Lauded for “superb playing” and “poised, alert musicianship” by the Boston Globe, Myer is considered one of the most respected and sought-after pianists on today’s concert stages. During his visit to BGSU, Myers will sit on a panel of judges for the Dubois piano competition; work with piano students during a master class, and present a community concert at 8 p.m. on Feb. 13 in Kobacker Hall, Moore Musical Arts Center.

His performance will include pieces by Mozart, Schumann, Ravel and Bolcom.

Myer’s orchestral, recital and chamber music performances have been heard throughout the country, Canada, Europe, Africa and Asia. He has been soloist with, among many others, The Cleveland Orchestra; Boise, Dayton and Louisiana philharmonic orchestras; Pro Art Chamber Orchestra of Boston; The Park Avenue Chamber Symphony; Mexico’s Orquesta Filarmónica de Jalisco; South Africa’s Cape Town and Johannesburg philharmonic orchestras, and Beijing’s China National Symphony Orchestra. He has collaborated with such conductors as Leslie B. Dunner, Bernhard Gueller, Jacques Lacombe, Jahja Ling, Timothy Muffitt, Maurice Peress, Kevin Rhodes, Matthew Savery, Klauspeter Seibel, Steven Smith, Arjan Tien and Victor Yampolsky. In May 2005, his recital/orchestral tour of South Africa included a performance of the five piano concerti of Beethoven with the Chamber Orchestra of South Africa, followed by return orchestra and recital tours in 2010 and 2012.

His master class for BGSU piano students will be 2:30-4:30 p.m. on Feb. 12 in Bryan Recital Hall. The class is free and open to the public.

Twenty-six competitors will be invited to the Dubois competition semifinal round, which is Feb. 13 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Kobacker Hall, with the finalists announced at 5:30 p.m. The competition finals are Feb. 14 from 9 a.m. to noon in Kobacker Hall. Winners will be announced at 12:30 p.m.

Tickets for the public performance on Feb. 13 are $10 for adults, $5 for children and free for BGSU music students with ID. Tickets are available online at bgsu.edu/arts, by calling the Arts Box Office at 419-372-8171, or visiting the arts ticket office in the Wolfe Center for the Arts.

The Dubois Piano Festival and Competition is named for Dr. David D. Dubois, an internationally recognized consultant, author and speaker who had a love of music and a passion for piano and organ performance. In 2008, after reviewing proposals from major music schools around the nation, the David D. Dubois Trust established the competition at BGSU to enhance the piano program in the College of Musical Arts. The competition supports student pianists by providing scholarships for high school students to attend BGSU, encouraging undergraduate students to develop innovative programming ideas for outreach projects and supporting current piano students to participate in music festivals around the world.

For more information visit bgsu.edu/dubois.