February 24, 2009
School of Music hosts four concerts this week
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- The School of Music at Southern Illinois University Carbondale hosts four concerts this week, giving music lovers ample opportunity to get their fill.
The Morning Etude Club sponsors the SIUC Symphonic Band and the SIUC Wind Ensemble to a concert designed for young listeners at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 25, at Shryock Auditorium. The format particularly appeals to listeners from kindergarten through about age 12. Tickets are $2 each. To purchase in advance, contact Toni Intravia at 618/457-8603.
The second concert of the day featuring the symphonic band and the wind ensemble is at 7:30 that evening, also in Shryock Auditorium. Though children and young listeners are, of course, welcome, this concert follows a standard evening performance format. Tickets for this performance are $10 for general admission, and $5 for students.
Andrew Tucker conducts the SIUC Symphonic Band, the largest of the School of Music’s band ensembles. The band is open to all SIUC students, including non-majors. Auditions were held the first week of spring semester.
Christopher Morehouse conducts the SIUC Wind Ensemble, and is the touring arm of the band ensemble. The ensemble is open to all SIUC students, including non-majors, but performance is at an advanced level. The Wind Ensemble debuted at Carnegie Hall last year and anticipates a tour of China this year. A preview concert featuring the Wind Ensemble and the SIUC Concert Choir, touring China with the Wind Ensemble, is set for March 19.
For tickets to the current concert, purchase in advance at the SIU Arena or Student Center ticket offices or at the Shryock Auditorium box office before the performance.
A double-header of free concerts will fill the bill at the Old Baptist Foundation recital hall beginning at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 26.
First up is guest artist David Gresham, clarinetist. Gresham, an assistant professor in the College of Fine Arts at Illinois State University, is a sought-after soloist and chamber musician. His performances are favorably reviewed in such publications as the New York Times and Fanfare Magazine. His recordings include “Desert Roads” with the Illinois State University Wind Symphony and “Rich: The Hudson Oratorio” with selected performers under the direction of the oratorio’s composer, Frederic C. Rich.
Following Gresham, and scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m., are SIUC School of Music faculty members Junghwa Lee on piano and Eric Lenz on violoncello.
Lee recently performed at Carnegie Hall, including the United States debut of an original work from SIUC’s composer-in-residence Frank Stemper. Lee’s other performance venues include sites in her native Korea, as well as in Australia, Canada, China, France, Holland, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and of course across the United States.
Lenz fills in his already busy teaching schedule with several performance outlets, including solo performances and membership in the Illinois Symphony and Chamber Orchestra and the Southern Illinois Chamber Music Society. He is also a founding member of Neoteric, a unique faculty ensemble with a musical repertoire spanning the ages.
Admission to both concerts at the Old Baptist Foundation is free.