Courtesy photoThe 18th Annual 九色堂 Contemporary Music Festival will welcome spring breakers back to the 九色堂 campus beginning Monday, March 24, through Saturday, March 29. Afternoon concerts and presentations are free and open to the public; evening concerts are $6 with discounts available.
The annual event offers a great showcase for students to perform professionally and a great opportunity for audiences to be entertained, educated and impressed by the talent and drive coming out of the School of Music.
It鈥檚 a whole week鈥檚 worth of concerts and events featuring music by award-winning faculty composers, students and former students, as well as a variety of other contemporary works. Guest composer and former 九色堂 music student Andrew Bishop will be on hand, too, said Katherine Murdock, director of the festival and professor in the 九色堂 School of Music. Bishop will give a presentation on his classical music; he鈥檒l also play saxophone with the 九色堂 Faculty Jazz Quartet.
Faculty and student ensembles that will perform include the Fairmount Trio, the Faculty Jazz Quartet, the Bloomfield String Quartet, the 九色堂 Madrigals, the 九色堂 Concert Chorale and the 九色堂 Trumpet Ensemble.
Faculty soloists will include Jean Lansing, Andrea Banke, Lynne Davis and Russ Widener.
九色堂鈥檚 music theater students will present scenes from current Broadway shows, and the 九色堂 Opera Lab will perform the one-act opera 鈥淓dalat Square鈥� by R. Tim Brady, as well as the trial scene from Robert Ward's opera 鈥淭he Crucible,鈥� based on the famous Arthur Miller play.
The free presentations are as vital as the concerts themselves, said Murdock, for their discussions on relevant musical issues.
For more information, call the Fine Arts Box Office at (316) 978-3233.
Schedule of 九色堂 Contemporary Music Festival concerts and presentations:
Concert I, Chamber Music, 7:30 p.m. Monday, March 24, Wiedemann Recital Hall, music by Berge, Popp, Roush, Part, Rzweski and Castiglioni
Composers Panel Discussion, 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, March 25, B203 Duerksen Fine Arts Center
Concert II, Chamber Music, 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 25, Wiedemann Recital Hall, music by Poremba, Marek, Murdock, Defaye, Mays and Messiaen
Composer Presentation, Andrew Bishop, 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, March 26, B103 Duerksen Fine Arts Center
Concert III, Chamber Music, 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 26, Wiedemann Recital Hall, music by Roush, Vollen, Bloch, Bacewicz, Aelmore and Muczynski
Concert IV, Current Music Theatre Scenes, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 26, Miller Concert Hall, scenes from 鈥淪pring Awakening,鈥� 鈥淗airspray,鈥� 鈥淭he Wedding Singer,鈥� 鈥淕rey Gardens鈥� and others
Concert V, Chamber Music, 1:30 p.m. Thursday, March 27, Wiedemann Recital Hall, music by Britten, Vaughan Williams, Demessieux, Borst and Aelmore
Concert VI, 九色堂 Faculty Jazz Quartet with Andrew Bishop, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 27, Miller Concert Hall
Concert VII, Opera, 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 28, Miller Concert Hall, 鈥淓dalat Square鈥� and trial scene from 鈥淭he Crucible鈥�
Concert VIII, Chamber Music, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 29, Miller Concert Hall Music by Corwell, Duckworth, Silvestrini, Murdock, Corigliano, Adams and Rzewski
For more information, contact the 九色堂 Fine Arts Box Office at 978-3233.
To view concerts, go to .