Spring Music Festival: “Passport: A Musical Expedition and Segovia series concert scheduled

 

Evanston, IL – “Passport: A Musical Expedition” — the 2011 Spring Festival — March 30 to April 9, will open the Northwestern University Bienen School of Music’s 2010-11 spring performance season.

Festival programs include an April 1 operatic showcase staged by Jay Lesenger, Northwestern’s director of opera, and featuring School of Music opera students; an April 2 concert by the Haitian ensemble Boukman Eksperyans; and an April 7 performance of 1920s and 1930s gypsy jazz by the Hot Club of San Francisco. The Hot Club ensemble will accompany an April 8 screening of four silent films at the Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art. April 9, there will be a musical tribute to Irish and Jewish influences on vaudeville and Tin Pan Alley. Three April lecture/demonstrations are also part of the Spring Festival.

Other highlights include April 1 and 2 master classes by cellist Lynn Harrell; an April 9 concert in the Segovia Classical Guitar Series by the Beijing Guitar Duo; an April 14 performance by the Athens Saxophone Quartet; the April 18 annual Northwestern Concerto/Aria Competition and an April 27 piano master class by Menahem Pressler.

Events listed below are open to the public and will be held on Northwestern’s Evanston campus at Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, 50 Arts Circle Drive; Regenstein Recital Hall, 60 Arts Circle Drive; Lutkin Hall, 700 University Place; Alice Millar Chapel, 1870 Sheridan Road, or the Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, 40 Arts Circle Drive, as noted.

For more information, call the Pick-Staiger Concert Office at (847) 491-5441 or visit the Pick-Staiger website at http://www.pickstaiger.org/. To order tickets by phone, call the Pick-Staiger Ticket Office at (847) 467-4000.

APRIL 2011 MUSIC EVENTS Music from Asia, Europe and America will be featured in an evening of vocal prowess. Travel operatically as music director Alan Darling and stage director Jay Lesenger showcase opera singers from the Bienen School of Music. The program will include selections from “Carmen,” “Cosi fan tutte,” “Don Giovanni,” “La Boheme,” “Lakme” and the Bienen School of Music spring opera, “Street Scene.” Tickets are $14 for the general public; $12 for senior citizens and Northwestern faculty and staff; and $6 for students with valid IDs.

Spring Festival concert, “Road Trip: An Operatic Travelogue,” 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 1, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall.

Cello Master Class, noon and Chamber Music Master Class, 5 p.m. Lynn Harrell, Friday, April 1; and Cello Master Class 12:30 p.m. Saturday, April 2, Regenstein Recital Hall. World-renowned cellist Harrell, a soloist, chamber musician, recitalist, conductor and teacher, will conduct three master classes for pre-selected Bienen School cello and chamber ensemble students. Admission is free.

Spring Festival concert, Boukman Eksperyans, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 2, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. The legendary 10-piece Haitian ensemble Boukman Eksperyans will showcase its high-energy sound, fusing traditional Haitian and Caribbean rhythms with rock and reggae. The group ushered in a musical revolution with its Grammy-nominated debut album, “Voudou Adjae.” It has appeared with Wyclef Jean, Femi Kuti, Baaba Maal, the Fugees and many other world music stars. This concert is presented in conjunction with the One Book One Northwestern program, featuring Tracy Kidder’s “Mountains Beyond Mountains.” Tickets are $16 for the general public; $14 for senior citizens and Northwestern faculty and staff; and $8 for students with valid IDs.

Spring Festival lecture/demonstration, “Music and Human Rights in Haiti,” 4 p.m. Monday, April 4, Regenstein Recital Hall. The Bienen School of Music, One Book One Northwestern and the Northwestern Conference on Human Rights will present a lecture, discussion and Q&A with Theodore “Lolo” and Mimerose “Manze” Beaubrun of Boukman Eksperyans. Admission is free.

Spring Festival concert, “The Hot Club of San Francisco: Meet Me in Paris,” 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 7, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. Join the Hot Club of San Francisco — comprised of leader and guitarist Paul Mehling, singer-guitarist Isabelle Fontaine, guitarist Jeff Magidson, violinist Evan Price and bassist Clint Baker — for an evening of love songs and gypsy jazz made famous in the 1920s and 1930s by Django Reinhardt, Stephane Grappelli and their legendary Quintette du Hot Club de France. Guitar and fiddle solos will take the audience on a ride down the Seine and through the heart of Paris. French singer-guitarist Fontaine’s mix of sweet and sultry songs adds to the Parisian ambiance. Tickets are $16 for the general public; $14 for senior citizens and Northwestern faculty and staff; and $8 for students with valid IDs.

Spring Festival lecture/demonstration, “Irish and Jewish Influences on Tin Pan Alley” with Mick Moloney, 2 p.m. Friday, April 8, Regenstein Recital Hall. Musician and folklorist Moloney will discuss Irish and Jewish cultural influences on the music of Tin Pan Alley. Admission is free.

Spring Festival lecture, “Unlocking the Secrets of Gypsy Guitar,” 4 p.m. Friday, April 8, Regenstein Recital Hall. Guitarist Paul Mehling of the Hot Club of San Francisco will discuss the techniques and history of gypsy jazz guitar, as made popular by Django Reinhardt during the 1920s and 1930s. Admission is free.

Spring Festival, “Silent Surrealism: Silent Films with Live Music by The Hot Club of San Francisco,” 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 8, Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, 40 Arts Circle Drive. Take a multimedia trip back to 1920s Paris. The Hot Club of San Francisco — leader and guitarist Paul Mehling, guitarists Isabelle Fontaine and Jeff Magidson, violinist Evan Price and bassist Clint Baker — will provide live gypsy jazz accompaniment for four silent films: Charley Bowers’ “Now You Tell One”; James Sibley Watson’s “The Fall of the House of Usher”; Harold Muller’s “It’s a Bird”; and Harold Shaw’s “The Land Beyond the Sunset.” Admission is $8.

Spring Festival concert, “If It Wasn’t for the Irish and the Jews: A Tribute to Irish and Jewish Influences on Vaudeville and Tin Pan Alley,” 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 9, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. Famous for the music of Joplin, Berlin, Waller and Cohan, Tin Pan Alley also generated such Irish favorites as “Sweet Rosie O’Grady” and “T’was Only an Irishman’s Dream.” In 1912 William Jerome and Jean Schwartz wrote “If It Wasn’t for the Irish and the Jews,” a catchy song celebrating Irish-Jewish collaborations in American life. Join renowned musician-folklorist Mick Moloney and an all-star cast (featuring Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks, Athena Tergis, Brendan Dolan, Billy McComiskey, Susan McKeown and Niall O’Leary) for a musical celebration of good-natured ethnic flux and of competition and cooperation that left a lasting imprint on American popular music. Tickets are $18 for the general public; $15 for senior citizens and Northwestern faculty and staff; and $8 for students with valid IDs.

Segovia Classical Guitar series, Beijing Guitar Duo, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 9, Lutkin Hall. Acclaimed for her 2005 live album, Meng Su has won top prizes at the Vienna Youth Guitar Competition and the Iserlohn International Guitar Competition. At age 12, Yameng Wang became the youngest winner of the Tokyo International Guitar Competition, and two years later performed at the Paris International Guitar Art Week. The two rising stars met at Beijing’s Central Conservatory and as the Beijing Guitar Duo have toured worldwide. Guitar master Sergio Assad dedicated his “Maracaipe” to Su and Wang, and it is the title track of the duo’s first album. This concert is part of the Segovia Classical Guitar Series, supported in part by the Chicago Classical Guitar Society. Tickets are $22 for the general public; $19 for senior citizens and Northwestern faculty and staff; and $10 for students with valid IDs.

Newberry Consort, “Musica Secreta — Passion and Virtuosity at Court,” 3 p.m. Sunday, April 10, Lutkin Hall. At the turn of the 17th century, the noble courts and elite salons of Italy were hotbeds of musical patronage. The Newberry Consort will recreate the lavish ensembles to perform the music of Luzzaschi, Peri, Monteverdi, Wert and da Gagliano that was often a closely guarded, private luxury for a select inner circle. Enter these private chambers to revel in the celestial treble sonority of Ferrara’s Concerti di Donne, the virtuosic pyrotechnics of the bass voice, and rich consort textures of violins, harpsichord and lutes. The concert will be preceded by a lecture at 2 p.m. Tickets are $30 for the general public, senior citizens and Northwestern faculty and staff and $5 for students with valid IDs. There is a $2 ticket discount for phone orders made in advance of the concert.

Violin Pedagogy Weekend Finale Concert, 3 p.m. Sunday, April 10, Regenstein Recital Hall. This weekend of master classes will culminate in performances by students from the Northwestern University Music Academy, Indiana University Music Academy, Peabody Preparatory, Maryland Talent Education Center, String Academy of Wisconsin at UW Milwaukee and String Academy of Wyoming. The program will include the world premiere of a new violin work by Northwestern theory and composition professor Lee Hyla. For more information, contact the Music Academy string studio at (847) 467-6514. Admission is free.

Alice Millar Chapel Choir and Wheaton College Conservatory Concert Choir, 5 p.m. Sunday, April 10, Alice Millar Chapel. Stephen Alltop and Paul Wiens will conduct the Alice Millar Chapel Choir and the Wheaton College Conservatory Concert Choir in a performance featuring organists Eric Budzynski and Jacob Fuhrman. The program will include Stephen Paulus’ “The Pilgrim’s Hymn”; Mack Wilberg’s arrangement of “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing”; Bob Chilcott’s “Steal Away”; Shawn Kirchner’s “Wana Baraka”; Bach’s “Erfreut euch, ihr Herzen”; James McMillan’s “Cantos Sagrados”; Antonio Lotti’s “Crucifixus”; Messiaen’s “O sacrum convivium!” and Georg Schumann’s “Komm, heil’ger Geist.” Admission is a freewill offering.

Guest Artists, Athens Saxophone Quartet, 5:30 p.m. Thursday, April 14, Regenstein Recital Hall. The Athens Saxophone Quartet has premiered more than 100 compositions in worldwide appearances at music festivals and concert halls. Its members — Eric Honour, Dionisis Roussos, Leo Saguiguit and Athanasios Zervas — are accomplished composers, theorists and teachers in universities and colleges in the United States and Greece. Honour, Saguiguit and Zervas studied saxophone performance at Northwestern. Admission is free.

Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra, 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 15, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. Victor Yampolsky will conduct the Symphony Orchestra in a performance dedicated to the memory of Bienen School of Music supporter Carol F. Rice. The program will feature Mahler’s Symphony No. 7 in E Minor. Tickets are $9 for the general public; $7 for senior citizens and Northwestern faculty and staff; and $5 for students with valid IDs.

Symphonic Wind Ensemble, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 16, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. Mallory Thompson will conduct the Symphonic Wind Ensemble in a program featuring Ernest Toch’s “Spiel fur Blasorchester”; Thompson’s arrangement of Wagner’s Prelude to Act III, Dance and Finale from “Die Meistersinger”; Boris Blacher’s Divertimento for Wind Orchestra; and Maslanka’s “In Memoriam.” Tickets are $7 for the general public; $5 for senior citizens and Northwestern faculty and staff; and $4 for students with valid IDs.

Northwestern Concerto/Aria Competition, 5:30 p.m. Monday, April 18, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. With a reputation for producing some of the world’s finest young instrumentalists and vocalists, the Bienen School of Music showcases top students in the final rounds of this year’s solo competition. Admission is free.

Small Jazz Ensemble Concert, “Stompin’ at the Savoy,” 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 20, Regenstein Recital Hall. Director of jazz studies Victor Goines will conduct Northwestern students in a concert of jazz era swing. Tickets are $7 for the general public; $5 for senior citizens and Northwestern faculty and staff; and $4 for students with valid IDs.

Student Advisory Board Movie Music Concert, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 21, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. Roderick Cox, Deanna Tham and Frank Watkins will conduct students from Northwestern University, Northwestern’s Music Academy, the People’s Music School and the Evanston community in an evening of music from popular film scores. Highlights include music from “Harry Potter,” “The Lord of the Rings,” “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “Up.” Admission is free.

Kids Fare, “Pluck Those Strings,” 10:30 a.m. Saturday, April 23, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. Join us for a spectacular assembly of guitars, banjos, lutes, mandolins, harps, balalaikas, ukuleles and more as we celebrate the wonderful world of plucked string instruments with the Northwestern University Guitar Ensemble. Tickets are $7 for the general public; $5 for senior citizens and Northwestern faculty and staff; and $4 for students with valid IDs and children.

Guest Artist, Menahem Pressler Piano Master Class, 5 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, April 27, Lutkin Hall. A founding member of the Beaux Arts Trio, pianist Pressler has established himself among the world’s most esteemed musicians, with a career spanning more than five decades. Recipient of six Grammy nominations and a lifetime achievement award from Gramophone magazine, he continues to perform to great acclaim while continuing his teaching career at Indiana University. This master class with Bienen School students will devote two hours to chamber music and two hours to solo repertoire. It will include a brief intermission. Admission is free.

Contemporary Music Ensemble, “A World of Song — A World of Color,” 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 28, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. Faculty member Stephen Alltop will conduct the Contemporary Music Ensemble in a concert featuring soloists, including harpist Erin Ponto, soprano Josefien Stoppelenburg and tenor Ace Gangoso. The program will feature songs by Silvestre Revueltas, music for flute by Christian Lindberg and the world premiere of Alan Terricciano’s Harp Concerto, based on the Irish song “Fill Me to the Parting Glass.” Dutch soprano and painter Stoppelenburg is featured in songs written by her father, Willem Stoppelenburg, as well as other works that complement a display of her paintings projected as part of the performance. Tickets are $7 for the general public; $5 for senior citizens and Northwestern faculty and staff; and $4 for students with valid IDs and children.

Northwestern University Chamber Orchestra, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 30, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. Faculty member Robert G. Hasty will conduct the Chamber Orchestra in a program that features Rossini’s Overture to “Semiramide”; Debussy’s “Printemps”; Massenet’s Suite No. 7 (“Scenes alsaciennes”); and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 8 in F Major. Tickets are $7 for the general public; $5 for senior citizens and Northwestern faculty and staff; and $4 for students with valid IDs and children.

(Source contact: Laura Nielsen, marketing manager, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, at (847) 467-2420 or lnielsen@northwestern.edu)

Nathalie Rayter, a senior in the School of Education and Social Policy, contributed to this story.

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