Fanfare: October at SLU

Music                                                             (Nokuthula
Ngwenyama)
Brown Bag Concert
Fanfare kicks off its second decade of entertainment with a jazzy lunchtime community concert in Hammond's downtown Cate Square. Bring a picnic lunch and a blanket or lawn chair and enjoy the sounds of Willis Delony and the Southeastern Jazz Ensemble. The "Backyard Friends," a special group of Hammond school children, will be special musical guests.
Sept. 27, noon, Cate Square, downtown Hammond.

Music for a Sunday Afternoon
Hammond churches play host to classical music fans on Fanfare's Sunday afternoon. The First Baptist Church, 401 W. Morris, will host the Louisiana Sinfonietta, Baton Rouge's only independent professional chamber orchestra led by famed composer and conductor Dinos Constantinides, on Sept. 29. Dillard University organist Anthony Williams will perform Oct. 6 at the First United Methodist Church, 2200 Rue Denise. A trio of Southeastern musicians--violinist Yakov Voldman, pianist Raisa Voldman and cellist Karen Jung--will be the special guests of the First Christian Church, 305 E. Charles, on Oct. 20.
All Music for a Sunday Afternoon concerts are at 3 p.m.

SLU Opera/Music Theatre
Side by Side by Sondheim
A cabaret-style review celebrates the magical music of Broadway composer Stephen Sondheim. Singers draped in boas and flourishing top hats and canes, accompanied by two pianist and united by a narrator, present this evening of show-stopping tunes such as "Send in the Clowns" from A Little Night Music and "If Mama Were Married" from Gypsy and selections from megahits such as Company, Follies, and Into the Woods.
Oct. 2-5, 6 pm cash bar/dinner, Twelve Oaks; 7:30pm, performance, Pottle Music Building Auditorium, SLU.
$22 dinner theatre. Performance only: $10 general admission, $8 seniors, SLU faculty & staff; SLU students free w/I.D.

John Paul, harpsichord
British-born harpsichordist John Paul, choirmaster of St. Andrew's Episcopal Cathedral in Jackson, Miss., focuses on the picture-music of 18th Century France and the dances of J.S. Bach. Birds, flowers, feelings and characters spring to life from the rich sounds of the harpsichord. With his virtuoso technique and witty comments, this very British Southerner presents master composers as the entertainment they were in their own time.
Oct. 3, 2pm, Music Recital Hall, SLU. Free.

Texas Boys Choir
The white ruffled collars of the Texas Boys Choirs' brilliant scarlet robes frame their angelic faces -- angelic faces with angelic voices. When the choir performed his Persephone, the great composer Igor Stravinsky called the 40-voice ensemble "the best boys choir in the world" and the Washington Post said, "Their silvery, unwavering tone is the aural equivalent of a snowscape." For more than 50 years, audiences throughout the world have been thrilled by the precision and discipline of the sweet voices and their engaging program of classics, hymns and patriotic and folk songs.
Oct. 7, 7:30pm, Pottle Music Building Aud., SLU.
Reserved seat tickets: $10 general admission; $8 seniors, SLU faculty & staff; $3 SLU students

New Century Orchestra
The New Century Orchestra is a "stand up band" in more ways than one. Not only are the 15 members all virtuoso musicians, but they invariably perform standing up (except for the cellos, of course!) Led by music director and concertmaster Stuart Canin, the group also performs without a conductor so that they can convey their music more directly to the listener. Their unusual st"yle gives the group a special energy and passion and a particular intimacy with their audience, who agree, along with the critics, that this group plays well on its collective feet.
Oct. 8, 7:30pm, Pottle Music Building Auditorium, SLU.
$10 general admission; $8 seniors, SLU faculty & staff, all students.

Brooks de Wetter-Smith, flute
For flutist Brooks de Wetter-Smith, his Fanfare performance is a homecoming. This accomplished musician who has appeared as a soloist and clinician all over the world, was a member of the Southeastern music faculty from 1971-77. He has been featured at major festivals such as Tanglewood, the Salzburg Festival and toured the Middle East as a guest of the U.S. State Department. He will be accompanied by pianist Mitchell Vines of the Brooklyn College Conservatory of Music.
Oct. 17, 2pm, Music Recital Hall, SLU. Free.

Paul Groves, tenor
The winner of the Metropolitan Opera's National Council Auditions in 1991 and the prestigious Richard Tucker Foundation Award in 1995, tenor Paul Groves has embarked on a major international career on the world's opera and concert stages. Since making his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1992 the Louisiana native and graduate of Louisiana State University and the Julliard Opera Center has appeared in more than a dozen Met productions and collaborated on recordings of operas such as Rigoletto and Parsifal with the Met's maestro James Levine.
Oct. 17, 7:30pm, Pottle Music Building Auditorium, SLU.
$10 general admission; $8 seniors, SLU faculty & staff, all students.

Netherlands Wind Ensemble
Composed of leading wind players from the best orchestras in Holland, the Netherlands Wind Ensemble performs with a rare virtuosity, synchronization and sensitivity. The young musicians have rejuvenated the traditions of their 35-year-old ensemble, a huge hit in the Netherlands in the sixties and seventies. At Fanfare, they will present Beethoven's 7th Symphony and Kantcheli's Magnum Ignotum.
Oct. 25, 7:30pm, Pottle Music Building Auditorium, SLU.
$12 general admission; $10 seniors, SLU faculty & staff, all students.

The Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra
Picnic-n-Pops
Under the baton of guest conductor Timothy Muffitt, conductor of the University of Texas Symphony orchestra and assistant conductor of the Austin Symphony Orchestra, the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra will treat audiences to "Symphonic Dances to Broadway," an evening of spirited works such as Bernstein's West Side Story and Copland's Billy the Kid Suite. Joining the symphony for selections from Broadway will be Southeastern's own Stephen Rushing, baritone; Alfred Walker, bass, and Amy Pfrimmer, soprano.
Oct. 27, 7:30pm (doors open at 5pm), University Center, SLU.
$5 general admission; students under 12 free, if accompanied by adult

Nokuthula Ngwenyama
The name of Nokuthula Ngwenyama is worth making the effort to memorize. At the age of 19, she is already a major talent, a marvelous young champion of a neglected instrument--the viola. Said the Washington Post, Ngwenyama has "the extra fire and commitment that are the hallmarks of a serious artist...When (she) plays, energy flows from her into the instrument as though they were surgically linked." At 17, Nokuthula was the first violist in more than a decade to win the 1994 Young Concert Artists International Auditions. Debuts at the Kennedy Center and in New York's Young Concert Artists Series followed, to rave reviews. Undoubtedly, the first of many to come.
Oct. 28, 7:30pm, Pottle Music Building Auditorium, SLU.
 $6 general admission; $4 seniors, SLU faculty & staff, all students.

SLU Music Faculty Gala
Southeastern faculty musicians combine their talents for a special evening featuring the works of the great composer Igor Stravinsky, including L'Histoire du Soldat and Octet for Wind Instruments.
Oct. 30, 7:30pm, Pottle Music Building Auditorium, SLU. Free.



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