News release
Public Information Office
SLU 10880 Hammond,
LA 70402 phone:
985-549-2341 fax:
985-549-2061publicinfo@selu.edu
www.selu.edu/news
Contact: Christina Chapple
Date: 1/15/03
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SOUTHEASTERN'S ENCORE! 2003 FEATURES BILL EVANS, GUITAR FESTS HAMMOND -- Two special music festivals and the debut of a symposium for clarinetists of all ages highlight the 2003 edition of "Encore!," the Southeastern Louisiana University Department of Music and Dramatic Arts' spring concert series. The series also encompasses dozens of concerts, recitals, operas, plays and dance programs from February through May. Encore! 2003's music festivals are "encores" themselves. The Bill Evans Jazz Festival, which Southeastern first staged last year to honor the late, great jazz pianist and 1950 Southeastern graduate, will return February 20-22. Also back this year is the week-long Southeastern Guitar Festival, scheduled March 24-28. David Evenson, head of the Department of Music and Dramatic Arts, said the second Bill Evans Jazz Festival will include concerts at Southeastern's Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts in downtown Hammond by Grammy Award-winning pianist George Winston and the Eddie Gomez Jazz Trio. The festival begins at 2 p.m. on February 20 with an "all Evans" concert by jazz guitarist Curt Warren, professor of guitar at the University of Texas in El Paso and former member of the U.S. Navy's jazz band, the Commodores. That evening pianist George Winston will bring his popular keyboard style to the Columbia Theatre stage. Winston is renowned for his unique sound and mix of original compositions, traditional folk melodies and contemporary and classic pop songs. The Grammy Award-winning musician counts famed New Orleans pianist Professor Longhair among his artistic inspirations. Tickets for Winston's 7:30 p.m. concert are $30, Orchestra 1; $25, Orchestra 2; $30, Loge; $25, Balcony 1; $20, Balcony 2. Winston's Dancing Cat Productions will sponsor a food drive for the Tangi Food Pantry in conjunction with the concert. Patrons are asked to bring a donation of canned food to place in collection baskets at the theater entrances. Sponsoring a local food drive is a tradition at all Winston concerts. The Bill Evans Jazz Festival continues on February 21 with a concert in the Music Recital Hall by the award-winning Southeastern Jazz Ensemble, directed by Allen Zurcher. The concert will pay tribute to Evans, who performed with the acclaimed group as a student. A concert at the Columbia Theatre by the Eddie Gomez Trio – Eddie Gomez, bassist; Stefan Karlsson, pianist, and Jimmy Cobb, drummer – will close the festival at 7:30 p.m., February 22. Legendary bassist Eddie Gomez has been on the cutting edge of the jazz scene since his debut in the mid-1960s. His resume includes 11 years as a member of the Bill Evans Trio and performances with jazz giants such as Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Gerry Mulligan, Benny Goodman, and Chick Corea. Gomez's unique sound and style can be heard on hundreds of recordings spanning the worlds of jazz, classical, Latin jazz, and popular music. Gomez also plans to offer a master class at 1 p.m., February 22, in the Music Recital Hall. The Bill Evans Jazz Festival program is supported in part by funds from the Louisiana State Arts Council and the Louisiana Division of the Arts, and by the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge through the Decentralized Arts Funding Program. Bill Evans was one of a group of young aspiring musicians from New Jersey who were recruited by Southeastern's music department founder Ralph Pottle after World War II. He recorded more than 70 albums, won seven Grammy Awards and earned an international following. Throughout his life, Evans fondly remembered his college years, calling his time at Southeastern the happiest period of his life. He returned to campus for a concert 30 years after his graduation, shortly before his death in 1980. The first Bill Evans Jazz Festival was organized last year with a grant from the Louisiana Division of the Arts. One of the festival's highlights was the unveiling in the Music Recital Hall lobby of an Evans mural by Edward Pramuk, "Turn Out the Stars." More information is available at www.billevans.info/fest. The annual Southeastern Guitar Festival, scheduled March 24-28, will bring to campus eclectic and traditional guitar soloists and ensembles of international stature, Evenson said. The week begins with the spirited rasqueados, zapateos, and caste jondo of "Alianza Flamenca," a group that combines song, dance, and lively flamenco guitar playing. Alianza Flamenca's performance is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., March 24 in the Pottle Music Building Auditorium. The week will also include a solo recital by guitarist Jason Vieaux (7:30 p.m., March 25, Pottle Music Building Auditorium); a guitar composers' symposium moderated by Southeastern faculty member John Crabtree (noon, March 26, Pottle Music Building, room 124); a master class by Jim Smith; a performance art program by guitarist Randy Pile (7:30 p.m., March 26, Pottle Music Building Auditorium); and a concert by the Bel Arts Trio (7:30 p.m., March 27, Pottle Music Building Auditorium). The concert will feature flute, cello and guitarist Jim Smith, director of the guitar program at the University of Southern California. A new edition to the Encore! schedule is the Southeastern Louisiana Clarinet Symposium, which will be held at the Columbia Theatre from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on May 5. The symposium includes classes with John Bruce Yeh, associate principal clarinetist with the Chicago Symphony. Master classes and recitals will also be offered by Southeastern music professor Deborah Andrus; University of Montana clarinet professor Maxine Ramey; and Michelle Shoemaker, chair of winds, brass and percussion at the Longy School of Music in Boston. At 5 p.m., symposium participants will gather as the "Southeastern Clarinet Choir" to perform in the Columbia Theatre lobby prior to a 7:30 p.m. concert by the Southeastern Wind Symphony. The concert, titled "Come Memory," will feature Yeh as guest soloist performing Von Weber's "Concerto No. 2 in E-flat Major" as well as combined Southeastern choral groups. The 2003 Encore! schedule also includes: Tuesday, February 4 Faculty recital: Deborah Andrus, clarinet; Lois Hobbs, piano; 7:30 p.m., Pottle Music Building Auditorium. Monday, February 10 Faculty recital: Pat Kerber, guitar; 7:30 p.m., Music Recital Hall. Monday, February 17 Southeastern Chamber Orchestra, 7:30 p.m., Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts. Thursday, February 20 Bill Evans Jazz Festival: Curt Warren, guitar; 2 p.m., Music Recital Hall. Bill Evans Jazz Festival: George Winston, piano; 7:30 p.m., Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts. Tickets: $30, Orchestra 1; $25, Orchestra 2; $30, Loge; $25, Balcony 1; $20, Balcony 2. Friday, February 21 Bill Evans Jazz Festival: Southeastern Jazz Ensemble, 7:30 p.m., Music Recital Hall. Saturday, February 22 Bill Evans Jazz Festival: Master classes, Eddie Gomez Jazz Trio, 1 p.m., Music Recital Hall. Bill Evans Jazz Festival: Eddie Gomez Trio, 7:30 p.m., Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts. Tickets: $5, general admission; free for Southeastern students, faculty, staff, with university I.D. February 26-28 Southeastern Opera/Music Theatre Workshop: "She Loves Me," 7:30 p.m., Pottle Music Building Auditorium. Tickets, $12, adults; $8 Southeastern, faculty/staff/non-Southeastern students; Southeastern students free with university I.D. March 11-15 Southeastern Theatre: "Dearly Departed," 7:30 p.m., Vonnie Borden Theatre. Tickets: $5, general admission; $3, senior citizens/ Southeastern faculty/staff/non-Southeastern students; Southeastern students free with university I.D. Friday, March 14 Concert Choir and Department of Music and Dramatic Arts Ensembles, 7:30 p.m., Covington Center, Covington, La. Monday, March 17 Faculty recital: "The Schumanns: Robert and Clara," Henry Jones, piano; Joy Ratliff, mezzo-soprano; 7:30 p.m., Pottle Music Building Auditorium. Thursday, March 20 Danceworks, 7:30 p.m., Vonnie Borden Theatre. Monday, March 24 Southeastern Guitar Festival: "Alianza Flamenca," 7:30 p.m., Pottle Music Building Auditorium. Tuesday, March 25 Southeastern Guitar Festival: Jason Vieaux, guitar; 7:30 p.m., Pottle Music Building Auditorium.. Wednesday, March 26 Southeastern Guitar Festival: Guitar composers symposium, noon, Pottle Music Building Auditorium. Southeastern Chamber Orchestra, 7:30 p.m., Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts. Southeastern Guitar Festival: Randy Pile, guitar; 7:30 p.m., Pottle Music Building Auditorium. Thursday, March 27 Southeastern Guitar Festival: Bel Arts Trio, 7:30 p.m., Pottle Music Building Auditorium. Friday, March 28 Southeastern Guitar Festival: Master class, Jim Smith, guitar; noon, Pottle Music Building Auditorium. Monday, March 31 Faculty recital: Allen Zurcher, saxophone; 7:30 p.m., Pottle Music Building Auditorium. Thursday, April 3 Southeastern Jazz Combos, 7:30 p.m., Music Recital Hall. Thursday, April 10 Faculty Dance Concert, 7:30 p.m., Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts. Friday, April 11 Southeastern Jazz Ensemble, 7:30 p.m., Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts. Monday, April 14 Southeastern Concert Choir and Women's Chorale, 7:30 p.m., location TBA. Tuesday, April 15 Southeastern Faculty Brass Quintet, 7:30 p.m., Pottle Music Building Auditorium. April 30, May 1-3 Southeastern Theatre: "The Elephant Man," 7:30 p.m., Vonnie Borden Theatre. Tickets: $5, general admission; $3, senior citizens/ Southeastern faculty/staff/non-Southeastern students; Southeastern students free with university I.D. Monday, May 5 Southeastern Clarinet Symposium, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts. Southeastern Wind Symphony: "Come Memory," John Bruce Yeh, clarinet; also featuring Southeastern Concert Choir, University Chorus and Northshore Chorale; 7:30 p.m., Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts. Wednesday, May 7 Southeastern Classical Guitar Ensemble, 7:30 p.m., Pottle Music Building Auditorium. Sunday, May 11 University Chorus and Northshore Chorale, 2 p.m., First Baptist Church, 401 W. Morris, Hammond, La. Unless otherwise indicated, Encore! events are free. Tickets for Columbia Theatre events are available online through TicketWeb -- www.ticketweb.com -- or at the box office, 985-543-4371, located in the theatre at 220 East Thomas St. The Columbia box office is open from noon to 5 p.m., five weekdays before performance dates. Southeastern Theater tickets are available in the D Vickers Hall box office -- 985-549-2115 -- open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m one week before performances. Opera tickets will be available at the Department of Music and Dramatic Arts, 985-549-2184. Information on dance events is available at 985-549-2133. |
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