Â鶹´«Ă˝â€™s Department of Music is thrilled to again offer an eclectic series of free concerts this fall to the campus and our local community. Along with performances by the department’s renowned faculty members and dynamic student ensembles, the series also features an array of stellar guest artists. Joining that lineup are National Medal of the Arts recipient Meredith Monk; the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s principal cellist, Robert deMaine; the acclaimed early music guitarist/director Richard Savino with chamber ensemble El Mundo; the award-winning Eclipse Quartet and more.
“The Music Department is excited to share a wide range of performances with the Â鶹´«Ă˝ community,” says Joti Rockwell, chair of the music department. “As part of our curriculum, the department’s concerts bring together students, faculty, staff, community members and guest artists. Audiences will experience and learn about music from around the globe and across history. Enjoy!” he says.
September
2 X 2: Solo, 4-Hands, and 2-Pianos opens the department’s offerings on Sept. 14 with faculty pianist Genevieve Feiwen Lee and guest pianist Tian Tian. Lee is the college’s Everett S. Olive Professor of Music and a Grammy®-nominated artist who has performed across the globe. Tian has presented solo concerts across the U.S., Canada and China, she has performed with the Juilliard Quartet, Imani Winds and toured internationally as a member of the Studzinsky Trio. Their program includes music for one piano 4-hands by Gabriela Lena Frank and Eleanor Alberga, selections by Gershwin for two pianos, and Brahms’ Variations on a Theme by Paganini by performed Tian.
Celliola and Friends returns to the department’s programming on Sept. 15 led by new music champions, emeritus composer and cellist Tom Flaherty and his wife and violist Cynthia Fogg. Friends joining the duo include faculty performers Melissa Givens, soprano; Scott Graff, baritone; Joti Rockwell, mandola and mandolin; Genevieve Feiwen Lee, piano; plus more. The program will feature works by Michael Abels and emeritus faculty members Karl Kohn and Tom Flaherty, among others.
Rachmaninoff Piano Duos on Sept. 21 brings together Â鶹´«Ă˝ faculty member Phillip Young and guest pianist Jocelyn Chang in a program of music by Rachmaninoff for two pianos. Young has performed throughout the U.S. and internationally in Switzerland, Norway, Japan, Namibia, South Africa, Austria and France. Chang, now chair of keyboard studies at Pasadena City College, is an active performer and teacher in the U.S. and abroad.
On Sept. 22, the department’s Fête musicale unites many music faculty for a program of chamber music. This fall’s concert includes music by Martinů performed by Rachel Rudich (flute), Francisco Castillo (oboe), Gary Bovyer (clarinet), Carolyn Beck (bassoon), Danielle Ondarza (horn), Sarah Thornblade (violin), Kira Blumberg (viola), Maggie Parkins (cello) and Connie Deeter (bass). It includes a piece by L’hoyer with guitarists Connie Sheu and Jason Yoshida; a work by Piazzolla with Stephen Klein (tuba) and Phillip Young (piano); plus Jin-Shan Dai (violin), Jonathan Karoly (cello) and Jennie Jung (piano) in Paul Schoenfeld’s Café Music.
On Sept. 29, emeritus faculty/college organist William Peterson heads back to the organ consol for an all-Bach organ program. He will perform on the distinctly eclectic Hill Memorial organ in Bridges Hall of Music that was built by C. B. Fisk and dedicated in 2002.
October
The department welcomes early music specialist and guitarist Richard Savino on Oct. 18 along with the chamber ensemble El Mundo in a multi-media production entitled What Artemesia Heard: Music from the time of Caravaggio & Gentileschi. They will be joined by faculty soprano Melissa Givens and others in this early music program. Grammy®-nominated Savino has been a featured performer throughout the U.S. and abroad. He has been visiting artistic director of the Aston Magna Academy and Music Festival, and the Connecticut Early Music Festival, and has an extensive discography of over 35 recordings of music ranging from the 17th century through virtuoso music of Niccolò Paganini and Johann Kaspar Mertz.
On Oct. 26 the Eclipse Quartet (Sarah Thornblade and Sara Parkins, violins; Alma Fernandez, viola; and Maggie Parkins, cello) come to campus to play music by György Ligeti, and Ali Can Puskulcu. Joining the quartet for Dobrinka Tabakova’s Stone Trial will be pianist Genevieve Feiwen Lee.
College Organist Weicheng Zhao teams up with his wife and violinist Fang Gao on Oct. 27, for a program that includes music for organ and violin by Jean Guillou, Larry King, Liszt, Piazzolla, Ye Yuan, Qi Zhang, and Changcheng Zhang. Zhao has performed with the LA Philharmonic under the baton of Gustavo Dudamel, Zubin Metha, Esa-Pekka Salonen and others, and was a featured artist in their Chamber Music Series concerts at Walt Disney Concert Hall. His performances can also be heard on National Public Radio’s Pipedreams.
November
On November 4, Lee returns to Bridges Hall of Music for a solo keyboard program of music for piano and harpsichord composed by Beethoven, Livia Malossi Bottignole, Chris Castro, François Couperin, Antoine Forqueray and Gao Ping.
Recognized as one of the most unique and influential artists of our time, composer/performer Meredith Monk offers one of her rare, more intimate concerts with renowned members of her Vocal Ensemble, Katie Geissinger and Allison Sniffin, on November 9th in Bridges Hall of Music.
The Music of George Crumb on Nov. 23 features faculty members Ursula Kleinecke (soprano), Rachel Rudich (flute), Gary Bovyer (clarinet), Sarah Thornblade (violin), Maggie Parkins (cello), Connie Deeter (bass), Alison Bjorkedal (harp), Connie Sheu (guitar), Gayle Blankenburg (piano) and others.
In addition to these faculty and guest performances, the department’s student ensembles—the Â鶹´«Ă˝ Orchestra, joined by cellist Robert deMaine; the Â鶹´«Ă˝ Choir; the Â鶹´«Ă˝ Band; the Jazz Ensemble; and the Balinese Gamelan and West African Music Ensemble—will present concerts with music by Bach, Buxtehude, Elgar, Holst, Ticheli, Rimsky-Korsakov, Prokofiev, Strauss and other composers from across the globe throughout the semester.
The fall 2024 concert calendar is now available and can be picked up on the campus of Â鶹´«Ă˝ at Thatcher Music Building, 340 N. College Ave. Claremont.
All the department’s concerts are free and open to the public.