October 05, 2010

School of Music faculty members plan recitals

by Andrea Hahn

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- The School of Music at Southern Illinois University Carbondale is presenting a trio of faculty recitals this month at the Old Baptist Foundation Recital Hall.

First up is a piano duet featuring Junghwa Lee and David Lyons. That performance is set for 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 6. The program includes works by Franz Schubert, Igor Stravinsky and Mei-Chun Cheng.

Lee performs locally with the Southern Illinois Chamber Music Society and at SIUC-sponsored musical festivals, and she maintains an active solo and guest artist career. Recently, she debuted as a solo performer at the famed Carnegie Hall in New York City. She used the venue for the American debut of an original composition by Frank Stemper, SIUC’s composer-in-residence.

Lyons is a collaborative pianist at SIUC, which contributes to a busy performance schedule. He has performed with Daniel Gaede, former concertmaster of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center for the Arts as well as for recordings and national broadcasts.

On Oct. 11, at 7:30 p.m., Eric Lenz and Paul Transue present a concert for cello and piano.

Lenz is also active with local ensembles, including the Southern Illinois Chamber Music Society and Neoteric, a new-music ensemble featuring SIUC School of Music faculty. Lenz’s musical performances include early music as well as brand-new works, regular appearances with the Chicago Chamber Orchestra and the Missouri Symphony Summer Festival orchestra and many guest appearances.

Transue, assistant professor of collaborative piano and opera coach at SIUC, was Head Opera Coach and Head of Music Preparation for the Opera on the Avalon Summer Festival. His credits include Seattle Opera, Toledo Opera, Lyric Opera Cleveland and more.

David Lyons is back on stage with flutist Douglas Worthen on Oct. 15 with a concert beginning at 7:30 p.m. The two present a program of Bach, Copeland, Poulenc and more.

Worthen’s recent recording project for Musica Omnia, “Joseph Bodin de Boismortier, Six Sonatas, Op. 91,” saw him using a baroque flute for authenticity in recording. He performed regularly with the Handel and Haydn Society, and currently holds the first flute position with the Granite State Symphony Orchestra in Concord, N.H. His previous recordings include “Classical Flute Quartets” with the famed Mannheim Quartet.

All of these performances are free of charge.