Category Archives: events

Pianist Christopher O’Riley of NPR performs on BGSU Festival Series

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Musical boundary-crossing pianist Christopher O’Riley will give a solo performance as the next artist in Bowling Green State University’s Festival Series. Hosted by the College of Musical Arts, his concert begins at 8 p.m. Feb. 11 in Kobacker Hall of the Moore Musical Arts Center.

Since the triumphant release in 2003 of “True Love Waits,” O’Riley’s reimagining of works by such performers as Radiohead, Elliott Smith and Nick Drake have garnered critical accolades and international acclaim, including the only four-star review ever given by Rolling Stone magazine to a classical pianist.

His latest White Tie Classics/Mesa-BlueMoon release, “Out Of My Hands,” includes music of R.E.M., Portishead, Cocteau Twins, Pink Floyd, Nirvana, The Bad Plus, The Smiths and Tears for Fears, as well as material from Radiohead and a newly released song by Elliott Smith.

As host of the popular NPR music program “From the Top,” O’Riley is well known for his eloquent and compelling musings on music and popular culture. His most recent performances stretch the piano beyond the classical repertoire and into the rich, uncharted territory of contemporary and alt-rock. Announcing the program from the stage allows him to share musical discoveries, letting the music flow seamlessly from one genre to another, from the familiar to the fresh.

O’Riley is recognized as one of the leading American pianists of his generation, touring extensively as a recitalist and chamber musician and appearing with major orchestras in the U.S. and abroad. The illustrious group of conductors with whom he has collaborated includes Michael Tilson Thomas, Semyon Bychkov, JoAnn Falletta, Krystof Penderecki, Kurt Mazur, Christopher Hogwood and Leonard Bernstein.

O’Riley’s visit will also include a master class for BGSU piano students and his serving as a judge for the final round of the David D. Dubois Piano Competition for talented high school students.

For tickets, call the College of Musical Arts Box Office at 419-372-8171 or email musictickets@bgsu.edu.

BGSU Festival Series features Roman carnival spectacular

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Jeffrey Pollock
The Bowling Green State University Festival Series begins the new year with a “Roman Carnival Spectacular” featuring the Toledo Symphony Orchestra, BGSU’s Wind Symphony, and The Glassmen Drum and Bugle Corps. The performance takes place at 8 p.m. Jan. 19 at BGSU’s Kobacker Hall in Moore Musical Arts Center.

The exciting program begins with Toledo Symphony resident conductor Jeffrey Pollock conducting Berlioz’s “Roman Carnival Overture.” Dr. Bruce Moss, a professor of music education and director of band activities at BGSU, then leads the Toledo Symphony and the BGSU Wind Symphony in Corigliano’s wild “Circus Maximus.” The program concludes with Pollock conducting the Toledo Symphony in Respighi’s beautiful “Pines of Rome,” featuring the Glassmen Drum and Bugle Corps.

Pollock is an international conductor, now in his second year with the Toledo Symphony where he crafts all of the orchestra’s 50-plus community concerts, pops offerings and family events. He has worked with orchestras all across North America and with headliners such as Roberta Flack, Randy Newman and Winona Judd.

In addition to his BGSU position, Moss since 1980 has been music director of the Wheaton Municipal Band in Illinois, a professional summer ensemble regarded as one of the finest of its kind in the nation. It was recently featured in the WGBH-TV Public Broadcasting Service’s American Experience documentary “If You Knew Sousa.” His many years of public school teaching were honored when he served as co-conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, with Leonard Slatkin, in a special work featuring his high school students.

Ticket prices range from $12 to $30, with group tickets available. For tickets, call the College of Musical Arts Box Office at 419-372-8171, or email musictickets@bgsu.edu.

Dec. 9 to be BGSU evening of the arts

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Art will be the focus at Bowling Green State University on Dec. 9 with the gala opening of the Wolfe Center for the Arts at 8 p.m. and the annual Arts X extravaganza from 6-10 p.m. in the Fine Arts Center.

During Arts X, the community can stroll the halls shopping and viewing faculty and student glasswork, jewelry, ceramics, prints, cartoons and more while enjoying art-making demonstrations, music and readings from Prairie Margins and Mid-American Review literary journals. The sounds of happy feet from the Tap Dance Troupe will resound in a first-floor hallway, while on the second floor, contemporary dance and more music and theatre performances will be going on.

Kids are invited to make their own art projects in rooms 130 and 132, led by the Student Art Education Association. Visitors can commemorate the evening with photos of themselves at two locations.

The annual Faculty Art Exhibition is on display in the Dorothy Uber Bryan and Willard Wankelman galleries, and Akiko Jones will demonstrate a Japanese tea ceremony in the Hiroko Nakamoto gallery.

The art continues outside the building, with student film works projected on an exterior wall and the debut of the latest TARTA buses covered in wraps designed by BGSU students.

After viewing a virtual Wolfe Center for the Arts in the Fine Arts Center main lobby, visitors may walk over at 8 p.m. to tour the real thing. Highlights include the open lobby with its grand staircase, the 400-seat Donnell Theatre and the newly restored third-century Antioch mosaics (formerly located in McFall Center) in the lobby outside the new Eva Marie Saint Theatre.