Poetry and music at the Priestly Chapel

The ninth season of the First Sunday Program of Words and Music at Priestley Chapel is underway at the Joseph Priestley Memorial Chapel, 380 Front Street, Northumberland (about half an hour from Bloomsburg).

Programs begin at 9:30 am and conclude at 10:10 am. Each program includes a poem from a Pulitzer winning book of poetry, music and a guest poet. Programs for the spring include:

• On Sunday, April 5, Hope W. Kopf will perform selections on the historic John Wind organ and chapel piano. Guest poet for the program is Raymond Cummings. Originally from Baltimore Raymond Cummings is the author of several books of poetry and commentary, including Crucial Sprawl, Assembling The Lord, and Class Notes; his newest book of poetry, Vigilante FLUXUS, has just been released. His writing has appeared in the Village Voice, MAGNET, and the Baltimore City Paper, among other publications. He lives and works in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania and is a regular participant at the Poetry under Paintings at Faustina’s Gallery in Lewisburg.

• On Sunday, May 3 David Levengood will perform piano selections. David is a student of Professor Barry Hannigan at Bucknell University. Guest Poet is Steve Olofson. Originally from Buffalo, NY Olofson now lives in Sunbury and works as an educator and trainer in the Geisinger Medical System. Last fall he published a digital book of holiday poems, Thoughts and Observations on the Holidays.

• On Sunday, June 7, guest musicians are Bill Calhoun on piano and vocals and Erik Wynters on guitar performing original songs and songs from the repertoire of the band, “The Derivatives”, based on humorous mathematics themes, such as being “touched by a tangent”. Both Calhoun and Wynters are professors in the math department at Bloomsburg University. The program features the poetry of Sharlene Gilman. Beginning while in high school she has published poems in many journals. Currently she is a frequent reader at the Poetry Under Paintings program held in Faustina’s Gallery in Lewisburg on the second Thursday of each month. Gilman is a Professor at Bloomsburg University. 

Priestley Chapel Associates is a secular, non-profit 501 (c) 3 corporation established in 1977 to care for and manage the Joseph Priestley Memorial Chapel, the beautiful memorial garden and the historic 1811 John Wind organ located in the chapel. This lovely country chapel was built in 1834 by descendants of Joseph Priestley and members of the Unitarian congregation in Northumberland. Currently, the chapel is open to the public the first Sunday of each month for a program of words and music. The chapel is also used for wedding ceremonies, memorial services, and community events. For more information call 570-473-1688 or visit: www.priestleychapel.org.

Prepare for some Friday jazz

BU will host its 15th Annual Jazz Festival Friday, April 4. As part of the festival public concerts will be given at 11 am by the BU Jazz Band and special guests The Dave Stryker Trio will perform at noon with a clinic immediately following at 1:00 p.m. Admission is free.

Guitarist Dave Stryker has fronted his own group (with 23 CD’s as a leader to date), and been a featured sideman with Stanley Turrentine, Jack McDuff, and many others. Gary Giddins in the Village Voice calls him “one of the most distinctive guitarists to come along in recent years.” He was voted one of the Top Ten Guitarists in the 2001 Downbeat Readers poll, and a Rising Star for the last 5 years in the Downbeat Critics Poll. His approach combining the jazz burn to a soulful blues feeling is communicating to new fans wherever he plays. His most recent CD “Blue Strike” has made many Best of 2011 lists including WBGO Jazz Radio and Tom Reney/New England Public Radio.

Miscellanea: See the movie, meet the writer ...

Being Flynn, a film based on writer Nick Flynn's memoir, "Another Bullshit Night in Suck City,” will be shown Monday, Feb. 17, at 7:30 pm in BU’s McCormick Center, room 2303. The event is free and open to public. Flynn will visit campus on Wednesday, March 5, as part of the Big Dog Reading Series. The film stars Robert DeNiro, Paul Dano and Julianne Moore. The screening is open to the public free of charge, sponsored by BU’s English department.

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Sue O’Donnell, associate professor of digital art at BU, will explore the tangible nature of memory in her lecture, “Collective Memory,” on Wednesday, Feb. 19, at 4:30 p.m. in the Warren Student Services Center, room 004. The lecture is based on O’Donnell’s book, “Collective Memory: Recollections from 203 West Main Street Bloomsburg, PA: a Workbook,” published in 2012. The book centers on the Moose Exchange, a well-known community center in downtown Bloomsburg that received heavy damage from a fire on Jan. 30. When O’Donnell rented studio space in the Moose Exchange, she heard people reminiscing over their times in the building for proms, weddings and holiday parties. O’Donnell collaborated with various community members to get those memories published.

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The Sundance Film Festival award-winning documentary Inequality for All Thursday, Feb. 20, from 5 to 6:30 pm in the McCormick Center for the Humanities, room 1303. A panel of university faculty will discuss the problems of economic inequality at 4 p.m. in McCormick Center, room 1316. The event is free and open to the public.

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Student artwork will be exhibited in BU's Haas Gallery from Feb. 22 to March 6. On Feb. 27, a reception for the Student Art Show will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. in the gallery. The exhibit and reception are open to the public free of charge. The Haas Gallery of Art is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and from noon until 2 p.m. Saturday. The gallery is closed Sundays and university holidays.

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The Bloomsburg University Players will present The 24 Hour Plays on Saturday, Feb. 22, at 7:30 pm in the Alvina Krause Theater, 226 Center St., Bloomsburg. Tickets are $6 for adults and $4 for seniors and students from other schools. Advance tickets are available at the Haas Box Office at 570-389-4340.

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BU's Celebrity Artist Series will present Christopher O’Riley, who will perform his solo show, Out of My Hands, Saturday, Feb. 22, at 8 pm in Kenneth S. Gross Auditorium, Carver Hall. O'Riley is the host of the weekly National Public Radio program From the Top and is known for his piano arrangements of songs by alternative artists such as Radiohead and Nick Drake. Tickets are $30 for adults and $15 for children and BU students. For tickets or more information, visit www.bloomu.edu/cas or call the box office at 570-389-4409.

The coming week music at BU

Bloomsburg University will host three musical events in the coming week.

The Percussion Ensemble will perform Thursday, Nov. 7, at 7:30 pm in Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall. The show will feature works for quartets, quintets, and a large ensemble. Look for some non-traditional percussion stylings as well. Gifford Howarth conducts. Admission is free.

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The University-Community Orchestra will perform Sunday, Nov. 10, at 2:30 pm in Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall. The program will feature works by composers LoPresti, Sammy Nestico, and Copland. Trombonist Todd Hunter will be the featured soloist. Mark Jelinek conducts. Admission is free.

Hunter will hold a trombone master class will be held Saturday, Nov. 9, at 9:30 am. Call Mark Jelinek at 570-389-4289 if you're interested in attending.

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The Bloomsburg University Wind Ensemble will perform Tuesday, Nov. 12, at 7:30 pm in Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall.

The ensemble will perform works originally composed for symphonies, inlcuding: Franz Liszt’s “Hungarian Rhapsody,” Camille Saint-Saens’ “Dance Macabra,” Antonin Dvořák’s “Finale from the New World Symphony,” Maurice Ravel’s “Bolero,” Peter Tschaikovsky’s “March Slav” and Luigi Denza “Funiculi-Funicula Rhapsody.”

Steve Clickard conducts. Admission is free.

Guitarist to perform at BU

Guitarist Stephen Mattingly will perform at Bloomsburg University on Tuesday, Oct. 29, at 7:30 p.m. in Haas Center for the Arts, room 166. Mattingly is active as a soloist and a member of the Tantalus Quartet.  

Get ready to see some dance and song

Bloomsburg University's Celebrity Artist Series is bringing "Dancing with the Stars," "American Idol" and "So You Think You Can Dance?" finalists to campus on Saturday, Oct. 26, at 8 pm in Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall. Tickets are $45 for adults and $22 for children and BU students.

The show "Ballroom With A Twist" is an evening of entertainment for the entire family highlighted by stunning costumes, fantastic music and breathtaking performances, directed and choreographed by international world champion, Emmy nominated, “Dancing With the Stars” Louis van Amstel. This show will feature dancers Chelsie Hightower and Dmitry Chaplin.

And several of favorite “American Idol” finalists will join the bill with their powerhouse hit songs. If you love watching the cha-cha rattle on the television screen, getting up close and live beneath the fringe and sequins is a whole other ballgame you will want to experience.

Upcoming shows include:

• Nov .15 — The Graduate 
• Dec. 6 — Sara Gazarek 
• Feb. 7 — Project Trio Feb. 22 — Christopher O’Riley 
• March 7 — American Idiot 
• March 29 — Swan Lake 
• April 13 — Pedrito Martinez

A parade, a merchant and Motown

Bloomsburg School District and Bloomsburg University will celebrate Homecoming on Saturday, Oct. 12. The parade begins at 11 a.m. parade on Lightstreet, then on to Main and Market streets to Town Park. This year’s homecoming theme is Nashville music City, U.S.A.

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The Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble is staging Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice through Oct. 20. Director Andrew Hubatsek sets the play in a kind of gangster milieu.

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A reception for artist Sage Dawson will be held from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 10, in Bloomsburg University’s Haas Gallery of Art. Dawson will lecture at 3 p.m. For information, contact Scott Roper, sroper@bloomu.edu.

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Motown and More, featuring Souled Out, will perform Friday, Oct. 11, at  8 p.m. in Bloomsburg University’s Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall as part of the Celebrity Artist Series. Reproducing the classic sounds of the ’70s soul era, the group will perform hits from Motown and soul legends including Earth, Wind & Fire, the Commodores and Tower of Power. Tickets are $35 for regular admission and $17 for BU students and children. For tickets or more information, visit www.bloomu.edu/CAS or call the box office at 570-389-4409.

Exhibits: Downtown and on campus

The Moose Exchange on West Main Street is hosting an exhibit of artists who are, or formerly were, connected with the Pajama Factory in Williamsport through Sept. 26. There will be a closing reception Thursday, Sept. 26, from 6 to 8 pm.

The exhibit covers a wide range of mediums by many artists and artisans, including Chad Andrews, Juan Arata, Rebecca Armstrong, David W. Becker, Lynne M. Becker, Valerie Beggs, Aaron Bellve, Rita Bower, Robert Bower, Steve Bower, Alex Callender, Lynn Estomin, Phil Evans, Casey Gleghorn, Tommy Grieco, The Williamsport Guardian, Jennifer Gunlock, Jeremiah Johnson, Laura Knorr, Jennifer Leidhecker, Todd Lim, Keeley Loy, Vaughn Mallery, John McKaig, Curt Miller, Lawrence C. Miller, Tim Miller, Ron Moreland, John Nicholson, Misako Oba, Jill Ostrowski, Liz Parrish, Matthew Parrish, Veera Pfaffli, Michael Pilato, Marsha Turner Pluhar, Holly Patton Shull, Brian Spies, Dave Stabley, Mark Stabley, Andrea McDonough Varner, Ralph Wilson, Mark Winkelman, and Luke Yocum.

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Sage Dawson will exhibit her work in BU's Haas Gallery through Oct. 11. In her show, Home Sweet Ruin, Dawson uses cartography as a visual metaphor and style. The gallery is open free of charge from 9 am. to 4 p.m. weekdays and from noon to 2 p.m. Saturdays. A closing reception will be held from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 10, with an artist lecture and presentation by Dawson at 3 pm. Dawson was recently featured in “From Here to There” published by Princeton Architectural Press and “Cosmologies of the Self” in Elephant Magazine.

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BU's Gender Studies Minor is sponsoring a series of six French films. The first film, La Vie en rose, will be shown at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 12, in McCormick Center, room 2303. The film depicts the life of the French singer Edith Piaf, who lived from 1915 to 1963. This film series is free and open to the public.

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Open Mic Night, featuring a performance by host Griffen Alexander, will be held at 5 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 12, in Bloomsburg University’s Scranton Commons Amphitheater. The rain location is the Kehr Union Fireside Lounge. Each act in this “unplugged” event must include at least one BU student, faculty or staff member. Open Mic Night is open to the public free of charge and sponsored by BU’s Program Board and Community Government Association.

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Justine Ayuk, a lecturer in the gender studies department at the University of Buea, Cameroon, will talk about Gender and Development in Cameroon at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 11, Bloomsburg University’s Andruss Library, Schweiker Room. Ayuk is one of four University of Buea faculty visiting BU during September. The lecture, open to the public free of charge, is sponsored by BU’s College of Liberal Arts and Gender Studies minor. 

A preview of concerts and shows at BU

Here's the schedule of concerts and plays at BU for the 2013-2014 academic year. Most concerts are free. There's a modest admission charge for most plays. It's early, so there may be adjustments to the schedule down the line.

For myself, I'm particularly interested to see what the Chamber Orchestra does with guitarists Matt Leece and Victoria Hummer and the theatre shows, which seem to include a number of new pieces and a provocative classic by Lillian Hellman. — EGF.  

University-Community Orchestra: Young Person’s Concert, Oct. 1, 10 a.m., Mitrani Hall, Haas Center for the Arts. Mark Jelinek, conducting.

Fall Choral Festival: Oct. 19, 7:30 p.m. First Presbyterian Church, 345 Market St., Bloomsburg. Featuring Women’s Choral Ensemble, Husky Singers and the Concert Choir Alan Baker conducting.

Chamber Orchestra Concert: Oct. 27, 2:30 p.m. Saint Matthew Lutheran Church, 123 N. Market St., Bloomsburg. Featuring Victoria Hummer and Matthew Leece, guitar. Mark Jelinek conducting.

Percussion Ensemble Concert: Nov. 7, 7:30 p.m., Mitrani Hall, Haas Center Gifford Howarth, directing.

Theatre: Avenue Q, by David A. Miller Performed by Bloomsburg Players Nov. 7, 8, 9, 10. Alvina Krause Theatre, 226 Center St, Bloomsburg.

University-Community Orchestra: Nov. 10, 2:30 p.m., Mitrani Hall, Haas Center for the Arts. Featuring Todd Hunter, trombone. Mark Jelinek, conducting. A trombone master class will be offered Nov 9. Email mjelinek@bloomu.edu for information.

Wind Ensemble: Nov. 12, 7:30 p.m. Mitrani Hall, Haas Center for the Arts Stephen Clickard, conducting.

Theatre: An Evening of 10-Minute Plays,  Student-Directed Projects, Dec. 2, 7:30 p.m., Theatre Lab, University Bookstore Annex.

Jazz Ensemble: Dec. 3, 7 p.m. Mitrani Hall, Haas Center for the Arts Stephen Clickard, conducting.

Guitar Ensemble: Dec. 4, 7 p.m. Mitrani Hall, Haas Center for the Arts Matthew Slotkin, directing.

Carols by Candlelight: Dec. 5 and 6, 7:30 p.m. First Presbyterian Church, 345 Market St., Bloomsburg. Featuring the Concert Choir, Husky Singers, and Women’s Choral Ensemble. (Admission free, but tickets required; pick up at Performing Arts Box Office located in lobby of Haas Center.)

Theatre: An Evening of One-Act Plays, Student-directed projects, Dec. 6, 7:30 p.m. Theatre Lab, University Bookstore Annex

SPRING 2014

Spring Music Residency, PROJECT Trio: Feb. 7 to 9.

Theatre: February Festival, 30 Plays in 60 Minutes: Original scripts by the BU Players. Feb. 13-15, 19-20, Alvina Krause Theatre.

Theatre: 24-Hour Plays, Feb. 22, Alvina Krause Theatre.

Theatre: The Children’s Hour by Lillian Hellman, April 11-15, Alvina Krause Theatre.

Fourth Annual Dance Minors Concert, April 27-28, Mitrani Hall, Haas Center for the Arts

Honors Recital: Feb. 13, 7 p.m. Mitrani Hall, Haas Center for the Arts

Chamber Orchestra: March 9, 2:30 p.m. St. Matthew Lutheran Church 123 N. Market St., Bloomsburg

Jazz Festival: April 4, noon Mitrani Hall, Haas Center for the Arts

Spring Orchestra Concert: April 6, 2:30 p.m., Mitrani Hall, Haas Center for the Arts. Mark Jelinek directing. A piano master class will be offered April 5. Email mjelinek@bloomu.edu for information.

BU Choirs Spring Concert: April 12, 7:30 p.m. First Presbyterian Church 345 Market St., Bloomsburg

Concert Band: April 13, 2:30 pm Kenneth S. Gross Auditorium, Carver Hall

Guitar Ensemble: April 15, 7 p.m. Mitrani Hall, Haas Center for the Arts

Percussion Ensemble: April 17, 7:30 p.m. Mitrani Hall, Haas Center for the Arts

Music? Dance? Both. Nai-Ni Chen and the Ahn Trio

The Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company and the Ahn Trio will a dynamic collaboration of music and dance in “The Temptation of the Muses"on on Saturday, May 11, at 8 p.m. in BU's Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall.   Tickets cost $34.50 for adults, $19.50 for children and $17 for BU students.

Nai-Ni Chen is an established Asian-American choreographer who melds the freedom of modern American dance with the discipline of Chinese classical arts. She has taught master classes throughout the U.S. and at dance festivals in Poland, Taiwan, China and Russia.

The Ahn sisters have performed at BU several times. Angela, Maria and Lucia Ahn were born in Korea. Educated at the Julliard School, the Ahns reflect both cultures – U.S. and Korean. Unlike most musicians in the pit of the theatre, the Ahn Trio interacts with the dancers on stage for a partnership of dance and music.

The selections planned for the BU performance will include compositions by Kenji Bunch, David Balakrishnan, Pat Metheny, Ronn Yedidia and an arrangement of The Door's "Riders on the Storm."

“They’re used to practicing to recorded music and expect the same tempos and cadences,” said Angela Ahn. “As we get to know each other more, the dancers can be more free and we can, too.

For tickets or more information, visit www.bloomu.edu/cas or call the box office at (570) 389-4409.

The performance, the final program in BU’s 2012-13 Celebrity Artist Series, is supported Barbara and Michael Hudock, Hudock Moyer Wealth Management, and the Woodcock Foundation for the Appreciation of the Arts.

Guitar ensemble to perform at BU on Wednesday

BU’s Guitar Ensemble will give a concert on Wednesday, May 8, at 7 p.m. in Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall. The concert is free and open to the public.

The show will feature as many seven classical guitars playing together, and a variety of music from the 1600s to the present day, including Renaissance dances, a classical sonata, popular Latin American songs and a contemporary Cuban work. The ensemble is directed by Matthew Slotkin, assistant professor of music. The group's repertoire includes music by Issac Albeniz, Leo Brouwer, Scott Joplin, Stepan Rak, Fernando Sor and folk music from Brazil and Chile. The 15-member ensemble is made up of music majors who study guitar as their primary instrument.

Grammy winner Kathy Mattea to perform at BU Friday

This is a treat for country music fans. 

Triple Grammy Award winner Kathy Mattea will perform Friday, April 26, at 8 pm in BU's Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall.  Tickets cost $34.50 for adults, $19.50 for children and $17 for BU students.

At about 1,700 seats, Haas is a pretty intimate setting to see a show by a major performer for $35 a ticket.

Mattea will play songs from her most recent album, “Calling Me Home,” and her hits, including “Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses” and Grammy Award-winning “Where’ve You Been.”

More info about the Friday evening show at www.bloomu.edu/CAS or call the Haas Center Box Office, (570) 389-4409.

Mattea also will deliver the keynote address for BU’s 22nd annual Health Sciences Symposium and Wellness Fair, The Healing Power of the Arts, at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 25, in Mitrani Hall, followed by a workshop, The Positive Effects of Music in the Health Field, at 9 a.m. Friday, April 26, in Kehr Union, Ballroom. Both Mattea’s Thursday evening keynote address and Friday workshop are free and open to the public.

The American dream, translated

Anna Monardo, award-winning author of The Courtyard of Dreams and Falling in Love with Natassia, will visit Bloomsburg University on Thursday, April 11, for a lecture and question-and-answer session.

The lecture, "Translating the American Dream," will be at 7:30 pm in McCormick Center, room 1303; the question-and-answer session will be held at 3:30 p.m. in Warren Student Services Center, room 004. The events, sponsored by the College of Liberal Arts, Department of English and Gender Studies Minor (GSM), are free and open to the public.

Music on the horizon

John Vanore and Abstract Truth are special guest performers at Bloomsburg University’s Jazz Festival on Friday, April 12 in Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall. Bands from middle schools and high schools will participate in master classes for each section and a full band clinic. The BU Jazz Ensemble will perform a free concert at noon.

BU student Kyle Moore, pianist, will give a free recital Saturday, April 13, at 5 pm in First Presbyterian Church, 345 Market St.

Bloomsburg University’s Concert Band will perform Sunday, April 14, at 7:30 pm in Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall.

Democracy on Celluloid 

The move Recount, starring Kevin Spacey, will be shown Thursday, April 11, at 6:15 pm in Hartline Science Center, room G42. The screening is part of BU's Constitutional Freedom Film Series. The movie explores the human drama surrounding the 2000 presidential election. The film screening, sponsored by the Frederick Douglass Institute and the American Democracy Project, is open to the public free of charge. 

Barber's Adagio. On marimba.

Photo by Gordon Wenzel/Impressions

This is a big deal.

BU's Percussion Ensemble will perform an arrangement of Samuel Barber's Adagio at their concert on Tuesday, April 9, at 7:30 pm in Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall. 

Ensemble director Gifford Howarth arranged the music for marimba. The Adagio — one of the most recognizable and beautiful pieces ever written — was created for strings (though there have have haunting choral arrangements done). It's been featured in a lot of movies ... notably Platoon ... it was played for JFK's funeral and it inspired a book length critical analysis The Saddest Music Ever Written. It happens to be my very  favorite piece of music. 

It's not a piece that would seem to intuitively lend itself to the marimba. But Howarth is an ace. If it can be done ... he can do it. This is a must see.  

PS: You can hear the Adagio on YouTube. Interesting note: Barber was a Pennsylvanian and while the Adagio is his towering achievement, many of his other works are singularly beautiful. The second movement of his Violin Concerto is especially lovely. It's one of the things I like to have on the CD driving into work. — EFG

The concert will also feature Matt Savage’s “Spirits Rising,” Paul Goldstaub’s “Six Slick Stix Click Licks” and Alice Gomez’s “Marimba Flamenca.” Students Josh Nesmith and Kyle Richards will perform solos.

More recitals

BU student Scott Ashford, tenor, will give a free recital at 7 p.m. Saturday, April 6, in the First Presbyterian Church, 345 Market St., Bloomsburg.

BU students Victoria Hummer and Matt Leece will give a recital Monday, April 8, at 7 pm in Haas Center, room 166. The performance will feature works ranging from the baraque and classical to modern compositions. Also look out for number featuring the piano as well.


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Folk/pop charmers to play Carver

In the market for some low-key folk/pop? Sheila Carabine and Amanda Walther of the group Dala will perform Friday, April 5, at 7:30 p.m. at BU's Carver Hall, Kenneth S. Gross Auditorium.

The duo has been nominated for a JUNO Canadian Music Award and were winners of the Canadian Folk Music Award for Vocal Group of the Year. They're toured North America, performing at the New Orleans Jazz Festival and California’s Strawberry Festival and Mariposa.

Tickets for the Celebrity Artist Series show in the fairly intimate Gross Auditorium are $29.50 for adults, $16.50 for children, and $14 for BU students.

For tickets or more information, visit www.bloomu.edu/CAS or call the box office at (570) 389-4409.

Upcoming Celebrity Artist Series shows include:

• Kathy Mattea – Friday, April 26, at 8 p.m. in the Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall. Tickets: $34.50 
• Nai-Ni Chen with the Ahn Trio – Saturday, May 11, at 8 p.m. in the Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall. Tickets: $34.50 

Recital season is upon us

Euphonium. Photo by Hidekazu Okayama

Bloomsburg will be alive with music during the coming week.

The week starts with three student recitals in Carver Hall, Kenneth S. Gross Auditorium.

• Brittany Baselice, clarinet — Sunday, March 3, 2 pm
• Casey Carroll, trumpet — Sunday, March 3, 3:30 pm
• Andrew Grippe, guitar —Tuesday, March 5, 7:30 pm

Bloomsburg faculty member Tracey Schmidt-Jaynes will give a flute recital Wednesday, March 6, at 7 pm in Carver Hall, Kenneth Gross Auditorium. She will be accompanied by Reuben Councill on flute and Ron Stabinsky on piano.

On Thursday, March 7, one of the elite brass soloists of the world, euphonium player Adam Frey is will give a recital with BU professor Charisse Baldoria on the piano. The concert will be at 7:30 p.m. in Gross Auditorium, Carver Hall. More information on this one at bloomuliberalarts.blogspot.com.

And the Bloomsburg Chamber Orchestra will perform Sunday, March 10, at 2:30 pm at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, 123 Market St. That performance will feature noted pianist Cathal Breslin.

Chops: Guitar and Compositional

Matthew Slotkin, Bloomsburg University's guitar professor, will give a solo recital Wednesday, Feb. 6, at 7:30 pm in Carver Hall, Gross Auditorium.

* * * 

Linda Buckley, a composer based in Dublin, will give a lecture Thursday, Feb. 7, at 5 pm in Haas Center for the Arts, room 166. Buckley is a member of the Spatial Music Collective, dedicated to the creation and presentation of spatial acoustic and electroacoustic music. She studied Music at University College Cork, and Music and Media Technologies at Trinity College Dublin. She holds a Ph.D in Composition from Trinity College, where she also lectures.

A Grammy nominee in Carver this spring

Upcoming Celebrity Artist Series performer Luciana Souza has been nominated for two Grammys —for best Jazz Vocal Album for The Book of Chet  and for best Latin Jazz Album for Brazillian Duos III.

Souza — who performed with Herbie Hancock on his Grammy winning record, River – The Joni Letters — will play BU on Sunday, Feb. 17 at 7:30 p.m. in Carver Hall, Kenneth S. Gross Auditorium. Tickets are  $29.50 for adults, $16.50 for children and $14 for BU students. At Bloomsburg she will perform with longstanding collaborator, Brazilian guitarist Romero Lubambo.

Souza, a studio vet by 16, earned a BA in jazz composition from Boston’s Berklee College of Music, where she also spent four years on the faculty; an MA in jazz studies from the New England Conservatory of Music; and had a four-year teaching stint at the Manhattan School of Music.

The video below catches her in a distinctly mellow mood.

Passings

The local arts community lost BU choir Eileen Hower this past week. She was well-known both on campus and from her work at Central School District. (The family has set up a memorial fund for music education in her name. Contributions can be made to the Eileen Hower Memorial Fund for Music Education. Please make check payable to Bloomsburg University Foundation, Eileen Hower Memorial Fund, 400 E. Second St., Bloomsburg, PA 17815.)

And, nationally, classic jazzer Dave Brubeck died. Brubeck has a personal significance — going through college, his album Take Five was the soundtrack to weekends. My roommate Raj (I worked on campus and stayed in the dorms four years) would keep the disc on fairly constant rotation, particularly Sundays. It's funny how music creates space. Take Five represented to me a kind of old-fashioned cool and casual elegance and it created a space that worked for both reflection and getting things done.  I've since found that saxophonist Paul Desmond's Take Ten is as least as good. — EGF.

Breakfast for Jazz

The Bloomsburg University Jazz Ensemble will hold a fundraising breakfast on Sunday, Dec. 9, from 8 am to 10 am at Applebee's Restaurant on Route 11, Bloomsburg. The breakfast will support the Jazz Ensemble's performance trip to the Crescent City Jazz Festival in New Orleans this March. Tickets for the breakfast — all-you-can-eat pancakes and while being seranaded by a jazz trio — are $7 and can be purchased from director Steve Clickard.

If you'd like to see the Jazz Ensemble before March, they perform Thursday, Nov. 29, at 7 pm in Carver Hall, Kenneth S. Gross Auditorium. Admission is free.