The Anubis Saxophone quartet, an ensemble that includes three BGSU alumni, will perform a concert of new works at the College of Musical Arts on Monday, February 7 in Bryan Recital Hall. The concert, part of the Music at the Forefront concert series sponsored by the MidAmerican Center for Contemporary Music, begins at 8 p.m. and is free and open to the public. Their program includes the American premieres of works by composers Giorgio Netti and Ben Hjertmann and a new work by BGSU faculty composer Mikel Kuehn.

Anubis Quartet – Allison Balcetis, Ryan Muncy, Sean Patayanikorn and David Wegehaupt – is a saxophone ensemble committed to the creation, progression and performance of new music. Formed in 2007, the group is establishing itself as one of North America’s major contemporary saxophone ensembles. They have performed as guests at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand and at the 2008 North American Saxophone Alliance Biennial conference at the University of South Carolina. In addition to a Chicago debut performance at Nichols Concert Hall of the Music Institute of Chicago, engagements during previous concert seasons included a presentation of new works at Mahidol University in Bangkok, Thailand at the 15th World Saxophone Congress and a performance at the North American Saxophone Alliance Region IX conference in Edmonton, Alberta. Recently, Anubis Quartet was the collaborating ensemble for Random Access Music, a New York-based composers’ collective, and will present a concert of five world premieres in New York City in May 2010. The quartet has commissioned and premiered works by living composers including Thierry Alla, Philippe Laval, Mikel Kuehn, Claudio Gabriele and Vincent Bouchot.

Anubis Quartet includes two Fulbright Scholars, one Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition gold medalist, one semi-finalist in the Adolphe Sax International Competition and the 4th place winner of the 2008 Jean-Marie Londeix International Saxophone Competition. In May 2010, Anubis Quartet was named the 2010-11 winner of the Claire Rosen and Samuel Edes Foundation Prize for Emerging Artists.

Music at the Forefront is an annual concert series featuring performances by accomplished and innovative performers of contemporary music. For more information contact the center at 419-372-2685 or email kdoles@bgsu.edu.

(Submitted by Kurt Doles)

The 53rd annual Band Music Reading and Directors Clinic at Bowling Green State University’s College of Musical Arts Jan. 20-22 will feature the talents of several BGSU graduates. All performances will be held in Kobacker Hall of the Moore Musical Arts Center.

BGSU’s Dr. Bruce Moss will direct the BGSU Wind Symphony in concert at 8 p.m. Jan. 21. Assisting Moss will be James Curnow, a world-renowned composer of band music, in the performance of his “Symphonic Variants for Euphonium.” According to Moss, the work is considered the “showcase” piece for the euphonium around the world. Dr. Benjamin Pierce, a BGSU alumnus and member of the music faculty at the University of Arkansas, is the soloist.

On Jan. 22, Dr. Carol Hayward will conduct the BGSU Concert Band in a 1:30 p.m. performance.

Also that day, BGSU alumna Dr. Linda Hartley, program director for undergraduate and graduate music education at the University of Dayton, will direct the Middle School Honor Band in a 2:30 p.m. concert. The clinic concludes with a 3:30 p.m. concert by the High School Honor Bands, directed by Curnow and Jeff Shelhammer, a BGSU graduate with 35 years of experience in directing high school bands in Ohio.

Tickets are $7 for students and senior citizens and $10 for other adults in advance, and $10 and $13, respectively, the day of the performance.

Each January, hundreds of middle- and high school band members, their teachers and directors converge at BGSU for the event.

To learn more about the event, visit:
http://www.bgsu.edu/colleges/music/events/bandclinic/

For tickets, call the Moore Center box office at 419-372-8171 or 1-800-589-2224.

Bowling Green State University will close out its centennial year with a concert and program at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 10, in the Lenhart Grand Ballroom of the Bowen-Thompson Student Union.

The “Centennial Celebration Concert” will feature a variety of the University’s musical ensembles, a tribute to a year of service and the filling of a centennial time capsule.

Many of the musical selections have direct connections to BGSU. Ryan Nowlin, an alumnus who was recently been named staff arranger for the U.S. Marine Corps Band, composed or arranged two of the compositions, current faculty members Chris Buzzelli and David Bixler had a hand in two of the musical pieces, and “American Pageant” was composed by Thomas Knox, a friend of Dr. G. Philip Cartwright, husband of BGSU President Carol Cartwright.

Representatives from the Bowling Green and BGSU communities will contribute items for a centennial time capsule that will be displayed rather than buried.

Admission to the event is a food item or monetary donation. All donations will benefit the Bowling Green Food Pantry.

The Sentinel-Tribune offers a preview of the concerts coming up this weekend at the College of Musical Arts.  Click here.