This week in music at BU

Guitar Ensemble – The Guitar Ensemble will perform tomorrow (April 14) at 7:30 p.m. in Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall.

Faculty Recital – Matthew Slotkin, guitar, and Joseph Murphy, saxophone, will present a faculty recital Wednesday, April 15, at 7 p.m. in Carver Hall, Kenneth S. Gross Auditorium.

Percussion Ensemble – The Percussion Ensemble will perform Thursday, April 16, at 7:30 p.m. in Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall.

BU Concert Choir – The BU Concert Choir’s spring concert will be presented Friday, April 17, at 7:30 p.m. in First Presbyterian Church, 345 Market St., Bloomsburg.

University Concert Band Spring Concert – The University Concert Band’s annual spring concert will be presented Sunday, April 19, at 2:30 p.m. in Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall.

Admission is free.

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.

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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Miscellanea: Poetry, exhibits, lectures, concerts

Poet Grant Clauser, a Bloomsburg University alumnus, will read Monday, April 9, at 7:30 pm from his new poetry collection, The Trouble with Rivers, in the Alumni House, Bloomsburg University.

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Bloomsburg University’s Percussion Ensemble will perform Tuesday, April 10, at 7:30 pm in Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall. The performance is open to the public free of charge.

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The annual Take Back the Night observance will be held Tuesday, April 10, from 7 to 8 pm, beginning at Bloomsburg University’s Kehr Union, Ballroom.

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David Gluck, author of “Rhythms of the Game,” will give a multimedia presentation Wednesday, April 11, at 6 pm in Bloomsburg University’s Haas Center for the Arts, room 116. Gluck’s presentation, which includes video and music, shares the story of Bernie Williams, former New York Yankees star and accomplish jazz guitarist. He will explain how athletes and artists conquer their fears, embrace failure and ultimately achieve extraordinary success.

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R. Holborn Brown will have a show of photographs, “Passages,” at the Artspace Gallery, Center Street, Bloomsburg, from April 12 to May 20. Reception will be Saturday, April 14, from 6 to 8 pm. 

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The 2012 Juried Student Art Show will run in Bloomsburg University's Haas Gallery through April 23. A reception will be held Friday, April 20, from 5 to 7 pm. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday from 9 am to 4 pm and Saturday from noon to 2 pm.

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Susan Feiner, professor of economics and professor of women and gender studies at the University of Southern Maine, will speak on “The New/Old Macho Economy” Friday, April 13, at 1 pm in Bloomsburg University’s McCormick Center, room 1303. The lecture is sponsored by BU’s Department of Economics and College of Liberal Arts.

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The Bloomsburg University Concert Band’s spring concert will be Sunday, April 15, at 2:30 pm in Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall. The concert is open to the public free of charge.

Marimba master

Bloomsburg University's percussion professor, Gifford Howarth is a marimba master and he's travelling to Singapore next week to do some teaching and performing.  Details, and a link to a performance are at the College of Liberal Arts blog.

Photo by Gordon Wenzel, owner of Impressions Photography in Danville, who did the shoot for BU's magazine a few years back.

Miscellanae

Measuring time, artfully: Bloomsburg University’s Percussion Ensemble will perform Tuesday, Nov. 8, at 7:30 p.m. in Haas Center for Arts, Mitrani Hall. This event is free and open to the public.

Art behind bars: Phyllis Kornfeld, author of “Cellblock Visions: Prison Art in America,” will give a talk Wednesday, Nov. 9, at 7 p.m. in Bloomsburg University’s McCormick Center, room 1303. She will discuss American prison art, which encompasses a wide variety of genres, often limited to basic materials allowed in prison cells.

Celebrate e.e. cummings: Well-known actor Anthony Zerbe will perform “It’s All Done with Mirrors” on Saturday, Nov. 12, at 8 p.m. in Bloomsburg University’s Carver Hall, Kenneth S. Gross Auditorium. The show is part of BU’s Celebrity Artist Series. Tickets are $29.50 for adults and $16.50 for children. The performance is supported in part by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. Box office: (570) 389-4409.

Violin, viola matchup: The Bloomsburg University-Community Orchestra will perform Sunday, Nov. 13, at 2:30 p.m., in Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall, featuring Flavia Pisco, violin, and Renata Ribeiro, viola. The program includes Delius’ Florida Suite and Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante. Admission is free.

Mallet time

And now for something fairly different ... BU's percussion ensemble.

Bloomsburg University's music program has really grown over the past several years. They've got choirs, bands, orchestras and a few more unusual ensembles ... such as a Guitar Ensemble and a Percussion Ensemble.

The Percussion Ensemble performs Wednesday, March 30, at 7:30 p.m. in Haas Center. I caught the rehearsal last year to do a photo shoot ... instrumentation included everything from mallets to kettle drums to music stands ... and culminated in a tribute to John Bonham. This year, the program might be a bit jazzier. But you can expect a real good show that just happens to be free.

Here's the info from BU.