All posts by shoekst

Toledo Symphony Orchestra featured in BGSU’s composer reading session

composition, events

BOWLING GREEN, O.— Orchestral compositions written by Bowling Green State University College of Musical Arts students will be read, rehearsed and recorded by Toledo Symphony Orchestra (TSO) musicians on Tuesday, Nov. 6, from 3:30-6 p.m. in BGSU’s Kobacker Hall.

After a review of the submitted scores, the following works were selected for the session:

Inside Out by Mark Witmer
Gardens of Stone by Corey Keating
Prelude in Tempore Belli by Evan Williams
Work for Orchestra 1.b by Zachary Seely

The TSO will be bringing its largest complement of players to BGSU, 72 musicians in all.  “Few academic institutions can offer this kind of professional experience, making this a unique opportunity for BGSU students,” said Christopher Dietz, a faculty member in musicology, composition and theory and organizer of the session.

The event is open to students, faculty and staff of the BGSU College of Musical Arts and invited guests.  Members of the public who would like to attend should email faculty liaison Christopher Dietz (cjdietz@bgsu.edu) to be included on the guest list.

Musician, conductor and broadcast journalist Bill McGlaughlin to visit BGSU

composition, conducting, events, jazz, Uncategorized

BOWLING GREEN, O.–Music students and fans of conductor, composer, musician and radio personality William (Bill) McGlaughlin will get to spend time with him when he visits Bowling Green State University Nov. 5-12. McGlaughlin’s radio program “Exploring Music” is heard daily at 11 a.m. on Toledo’s WGTE-FM, and across the country.

McGlaughlin is this year’s guest artist for the Dorothy E. and DuWayne H. Hansen Series in BGSU’s College of Musical Arts. The public is invited to an evening with him on Nov. 7. The free program begins at 7 p.m. in Kobacker Hall of the Moore Musical Arts Center, where he will share his thoughts and approaches to music and the business of music.

He will also conduct the BGSU Wind Symphony in an 8 p.m. concert on Nov. 9, also in in Kobacker Hall. Tickets can be ordered online by visiting http://www.bgsu.edu/arts or by calling 419-372-8171.

McGlaughlin is most widely known for his work in broadcasting, as host of Peabody Award-winning “St. Paul Sunday” and “Exploring Music,” as well as programs from Wolf Trap and the Library of Congress. He says he is proud to have begun his professional life as an “honest musician,” playing trombone with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Pittsburgh Symphony. In addition, he spent 25 years as an orchestral conductor with posts ranging from the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra to 12 seasons as music director of the Kansas City Symphony. Over that period, McGlaughlin received numerous awards for adventurous contemporary programming from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.

During his visit to BGSU, he will work with composition, brass, conducting and string students and conduct the Bowling Green Philharmonia in a rehearsal.

The Hansen Musical Arts Series Fund was established in 1996 to bring significant representatives of the musical arts to share their talents with BGSU students and members of the Bowling Green community. Past Hansen Series guests have included Marin Alsop, Branford Marsalis, Terence Blanchard, Craig Schulman and Bob McGrath from “Sesame Street,” among others.

For more information, call the BGSU arts box office at 419-372-8171.

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BGSU Opera Theater presents new interpretation of “Dido and Aeneas”

events, voice

BOWLING GREEN, O.—Bowling Green Opera Theater presents a bold new interpretation of Henry Purcell’s “Dido and Aeneas,” transporting the classic tragedy from ancient Carthage to fictional present-day Carthage High School. Featuring supplemental music from the composer’s “Masque of Love,” performances will begin at 8 p.m. Nov. 2, and 3 p.m. Nov. 4 in the Donnell Theatre at the Wolfe Center for the Arts.

The production addresses the epidemic of adolescent bullying, substance abuse and suicide. Departing from Purcell’s setting of the story, in which the Queen of Carthage takes her life after losing the Trojan Prince Aeneas to malicious supernatural interference, the Bowling Green version shrinks the classical monarchy structure down to the microcosm of the high school. Dido is the valedictorian, queen of scholarship, and she is pitted against the prom queen. This production explores the dichotomy of the oppression often experienced by those who seek the protection of social conformity and the relative expressive freedom felt by those who are ostracized by society.

The opera features stage direction by Dr. Sean Cooper, musical direction by Dr. Emily Freeman Brown and musical preparation by Kevin Bylsma. BGSU students in lead roles include students Rachel Taylor as Dido, Benjamin Laur as Aeneas, Grace Hirt as Belinda and Stephanie Tokarz as the Sorceress. Members of the Bowling Green Philharmonia and vocal music students fill out the cast.

Tickets can be purchased online at $10 for adults, $7 for students and seniors, and $1.75 for BGSU students. Day-of-performance tickets can be purchased for $12 for adults and $9 for all students. To purchase tickets online, visit http://www.bgsu.edu/artFor more information, call the BGSU Arts Box Office at 419-372-8171.

 

 

Legendary bass-baritone to visit BGSU

events, voice

BOWLING GREEN, O.—Legendary bass-baritone Samuel Ramey will visit Bowling Green State University Oct. 9-11 as the 2012-13 Helen McMaster Endowed Professor in Vocal and Choral Studies in the College of Musical Arts.

The public can spend an evening with Ramey, hosted by WGTE-FM’s Brad Cresswell, during which Ramey will share stories and take questions about his life as an opera singer. The event begins at 7 p.m. Oct. 11 in the Donnell Theatre of the Wolfe Center for the Arts.

Ramey’s visit will also include working with students in individual sessions and giving a master class for voice students at 7 p.m. Oct. 10 in the Donnell Theatre.

For over three decades, Ramey has reigned as one of the music world’s foremost interpreters of bass and bass-baritone operatic and concert repertoire. He commands an impressive breadth of repertoire encompassing virtually every musical style from the fioratura of Argante in Handel’s “Rinaldo,” which was the vehicle of his acclaimed Metropolitan Opera debut in 1984, to the dramatic proclamations of the title role in Bartok’s “Bluebeard’s Castle,” which he sang in a new production at the Metropolitan televised by PBS. Ramey’s interpretations embrace the bel canto of Bellini, Rossini, and Donizetti; the lyric and dramatic roles of Mozart and Verdi, and the heroic roles of the Russian and French repertoire.

Helen and the late Harold McMaster established the endowed professorship in spring 2000. Past guests have included Libby Larsen, Vance George, Jon Frederic West, Alice Parker, Margo Garrett, Ann Baltz and Marilyn Horne

The events are free and open to the public. For more information, call 419-372-8171.

 

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U.S. Army Field Band Jazz Ambassadors to perform at BGSU

events

BOWLING GREEN, O.—The Jazz Ambassadors – America’s Big Band will present a free concert at Bowling Green State University on Oct. 15. Hosted by the College of Musical Arts, the performance will take place at 8 p.m. in Kobacker Hall of the Moore Musical Arts Center.

The Jazz Ambassadors is the official touring big band of the U.S. Army. Formed in 1969, the 19-member ensemble has received great acclaim both at home and abroad performing America’s original art form, jazz.

Concerts by the Jazz Ambassadors are designed to entertain all types of audiences. Custom compositions and arrangements highlight the group’s creative talent and gifted soloists. The diverse repertoire includes big band swing, bebop, Latin, contemporary jazz, standards, popular tunes, Dixieland, vocals and patriotic selections.

The band has appeared in all 50 states, Canada, Mexico, Japan, India, and throughout Europe. Notable performances include concerts at international jazz festivals in Montreux, Switzerland; Newport, Rhode Island; Toronto, Canada; Brussels, Belgium; and the North Sea Jazz Festival in the Netherlands. In 1995, the Jazz Ambassadors performed in England, Wales, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Czech Republic in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II. The band has also been featured in joint concerts with major orchestras, including the Detroit and Baltimore symphonies.

The concert is free and open to the public. For more information, call 419-372-8171.