4.12.2010
HSU Concert Choir and Wind Ensemble collaborate on 20th Century American Music
On Monday, April 19, 7:30 p.m. more than 90 musicians from Henderson State University’s Department of Music will present a concert of 20th Century American music. The audience will hear some of the most important composers of our day including Leonard Bernstein, Vincent Persichetti and Randall Thompson. The performance will be on the Henderson campus in Arkansas Hall and is free to the public.
The Concert Choir begins the evening with a fanfare-like arrangement of Glory to God in the Highest, by Randall Thompson. This rhythmic piece is an example of the fresh compositional styles typical of many American composers of the 20th century. The HSU Wind Ensemble follows with an arrangement of Bernstein’s Mass. This work includes the rhythmic vitality and lyricism found in much of Bernstein’s music. The Concert Choir and Wind Ensemble will then perform Vincent Persichetti’s Celebrations, Op. 103 (Cantate No. 3). Persichetti uses famous Walt Whitman texts such as I Sing the Body Electric and I Celebrate Myself to craft a whimsical, but thoughtful piece. Persichetti masterfully combines wind instruments and voices with great attention to balance and color of sound. The concert will conclude with Randall Thompson’s exciting setting of The Last Words of David performed by the choir and band.
Stephen Eaves (HSU Director of Choral Activities) and Jesse Leyva (HSU Director of Bands) will lead the musicians in an hour of inspired music. Join us on Monday, April 19th at 7:30 p.m. for this free concert in Arkansas Hall on the campus of Henderson State University!
3.4.2010
On March 15, the Henderson Piano Duo makes its debut at the Piano Concert Series V. Drs. May Tsao-Lim and Hee-Kyung Juhn will join forces in Paganini Variations by Lutowslaski, Suite No. 2 by Rachmaninoff, and Liszt’s transcription for Four Hands of the Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony.
3.1.2010
The HSU Clarinet Choir traveled to Commerce, TX on Friday February 26 to perform at the first Texas Clarinet Colloquium. Under the direction of Associate Professor of Music Dr. Steven Becraft, the HSU Clarinet Choir was the only student group invited to perform at the two-day event.
The nine HSU music majors performing with the group included Holli Bennefield (sophomore, Queen City, TX), Fredrick Brown (senior, Pine Bluff, AR), Savanna Burkland (junior, Hooks, TX), Anna Eckstein (freshman, Mt. Pleasant, TX), Michael Henson (senior, Mesquite, TX), Nicole Kries (freshman, Harrison, AR), Chelsea McLaughlin (freshman, Palestine, TX), Rafael Powell (freshman, Little Rock, AR), and James Thomas (sophomore, Gladewater, TX).
“This was a great honor for our students” said Becraft. “We shared the opening-night concert with a clarinet professor from the University of North Texas, and on Saturday our students had the opportunity to attend lectures, master classes, and recitals featuring clarinet professors from the University of Texas, the University of Oklahoma, and a clarinetist from the Fort Worth Symphony. It was both educational and inspirational!”
2.23.2010
The Henderson Wind Ensemble presents "The Spectacular Vernacular Wind Band," a concert featuring music of the common people. The performance begins with a wild adrenaline ride -- John Mackey's energetic and intense "Asphalt Cocktail." HSU music majors Zach Coburn, Nathan Cooper, and Eric Shimanek are featured as trombone soloists in Michael Daugherty's tribute to an American hero, "Rosa Parks Boulevard." Ronald Lo Presti's powerful response to John F. Kennedy's assassination, "Elegy for a Young American," will be presented in collaboration with a slide show depicting the life and death of our 35th President. Assistant Director of Bands Michael Beard will guest conduct Charles Ives' "They are There! (A War Song March) with the aptly subtitled: "Fighting for the People's New Free World." A staple of our wind band repertoire, "Second Suite in F for Military Band" is a blast to play - and listen to! The concert closes with C.L. Barnhouse's brilliant showpiece written for town bands of the 1890's, "The Battle of Shiloh."
This performance will be channelled over the web - via video webcast, so that you can tune-in and watch the concert live. Visit the Henderson State University Band website about 15 minutes before the concert to view the concert in real-time.
2.2.2010
The United States Air Force Band of Mid-America Shades of Blue Jazz Ensemble is coming to Henderson State University on Feb. 16. The free concert will be held at 7:30 p.m. in Arkansas Hall.
Shades of Blue is an 18-piece big band with a diverse repertoire of traditional swing, bebop, modern jazz and vocal selections. During performances, concert-goers may hear innovative, contemporary jazz works, as well as the classic sounds of Count Basie or Glen Miller. Several of the band’s members are also gifted writers and arrangers, and their compositions are often featured.
For more information about Shades of Blue, please visit www.bandofmidamerica.af.mil/
2.1.2010
The Henderson State University Department of Music will welcome The Memphis Woodwind Quintet on Thursday, February 11 for a 7:30 recital in Harwood Recital Hall. The quintet is a faculty ensemble-in-residence at the University of Memphis. The group has toured extensively in its thirty-year history, including performances in more than twenty states and an appearance at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Displaying mastery and sensitivity of musical styles of all eras, the ensemble possesses a remarkable sense of expression and group harmony. The quintet brings together musicians of unusually rich experience as soloists, chamber musicians, orchestral musicians and teachers.
1.27.2010
Mary Ella Clark will be honored at Henderson State University’s annual President’s Concert on Tuesday, Feb. 2. Clark has actively promoted and encouraged musical talent in local, state and national organizations. The annual concert features the talents of Henderson students and faculty, and pays tribute to individuals or groups who have been instrumental in advancing the university and its academic programs.
The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Russell Fine Arts Harwood Recital Hall. Rick Dimond and Stephen Eaves will conduct the concert, which will include performances by:
Zach Coburn, trombone. Coburn is a senior working on his bachelor of music in performance degree. He is a student of Dr. Martin McCain. Coburn will perform Ballade for Trombone by Frank Martin.
Darnelle Rhone, tenor. Rhone is a sophomore working on his bachelor of music in education degree. He is a student of Dr. William Higgins. Rhone will perform Vainement ma bien aimee from Le Roi D’ys by Edouard Lalo.
Lauren Honea, soprano. Honea is a sophomore seeking her bachelor of music in performance degree. She is a student of Dr. Laura Storm. Honea will perform Adieu notre petite table from Manon by J. Massenet.
Andrew Smith, marimba. Smith, a senior seeking his bachelor of music in performance degree, is a student of Dr. Rick Dimond. He will perform Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso by Camille Saint-Saens.
The performers will be accompanied by an orchestra comprised of string players from the Arkansas Symphony, along with wind and percussion musicians who are faculty and students at Henderson and Ouachita Baptist University. The ensemble will open the concert with a performance of “Egmont” Overture, Op. 84 by Ludwig van Beethoven.
The concert is free and open to the public. For more information, call 870-230-5036. Tax deductible donations to support the President’s Concert may be made to the HSU Foundation-President’s Concert.
Past President’s Concert honorees include: Dr. Charles Welch, Dr. Charles Dunn, Dr. John G. Hall, the Board of Trustees, Betty Bruner, Eugene Kuyper, Jesse Branch, Paul Barringer, and the Diamond Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross.
Mary Ella Clark came to Arkadelphia in 1948 with her husband, Dr. Charles G. Clark. She was born in Eastern Arkansas on a cotton plantation and graduated from Forrest City High School. Clark earned a B.A. degree from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, and continued graduate studies at the University of Georgia.
In 1951, Clark became a member of the Arkadelphia Philharmonic Club and has remained an active member. The Philharmonic Club is a member of the National Federation of Music Clubs where Clark served four-year terms as protocol chairman, National Music Week chairman, Music in Schools and Colleges chairman, and served on the NFMC board of directors.
Clark served as president of the Arkadelphia Philharmonic Club, president of the Arkansas Federation of Music Clubs, and president of the AFMC Southwest District Music Clubs. She and Dr. George Keck of Arkadelphia have served for nine years as co-chairmen of the NFMC Young Artist Arkansas Concert Tour of national winners in five Arkansas cities.
Clark has three daughters, including Peggy Clark and Carolyn Tennyson, both of Hot Springs, and Elizabeth Bozik of New Jersey.
1.20.2010
Piano Day at Henderson State University will give local teachers, pre-college students, parents and adult amateurs an opportunity to attend workshops, lessons and concerts on Jan. 30. The opening concert featuring Henderson faculty members Dr. Hee-Kyung Juhn and Dr. May Tsao-Lim will begin at 10 a.m. in the Russell Fine Arts Center Harwood Recital Hall.
A second concert will be given by guest pianist David Cartledge at 3 p.m. in the recital hall. Cartledge is associate professor at Indiana University in Bloomington. He will present a lecture-recital about Franz Liszt.
Dr. John Hynes, who runs a piano studio in Little Rock and is the director of the School of Fine Arts in the Arkansas Baptist School System, will lead a session entitled, “I Wanna Die!” which will deal with performance anxiety.
Other workshops designed to help piano teachers and students will be led by Lim and Juhn. Registered students will also be offered a chance to receive private lessons from Henderson faculty in the morning, and selected students will play at a master class given by Cartledge.
Teachers and students are encouraged to register when they arrive to take advantage of the workshops and the master class. The registration fee is $20, and admission to the concerts if free. For more information, please contact Dr. Juhn (juhnh@hsu.edu or 870-230-5017).
1.13.2010
Dr. May Tsao-Lim, assistant professor of piano pedagogy and class piano at Henderson, and her friends Sonja Giles from Iowa State University and Elizabeth Young from Eastern Kentucky University will give a recital featuring piano, flute and oboe on Jan. 25. The trio, Dolce Veloce, will perform works by Dring, Quantz and Goepfart, followed by several sets of character pieces by Kronke, Vinee, Cui and Goossens. The recital will be held in the RFA recital hall at 7:30 p.m.
1.11.2010
Jesse Leyva, Director of Bands, will conduct the Four States Honor Band in Texarkana January 14-16 during the Four States Bandmasters Association convention. The band includes some of the finest high school musicians from Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana. Leyva was also published last month in the 2nd edition of the instrumental music education book Teaching Music Through Performance in Band, Volume 1. The text, a widely popular resource for band directors across the world, contains study guides to the core repertoire for middle and high school band. Leyva contributed an analysis and curriculum guide to teaching Chant and Jubilo, a work by Arkadelphia composer Dr. W. Francis McBeth.
11.16.2009
Four HSU vocal majors participated in the National Association of Teachers of Singing Regional Conference and Auditions in Searcy, AR on November 12-14.
Congratulations to Lauren Honea, who won third place in the Sophomore Women’s category.
Chelsea Kendrick (Freshmen Women) and Katie Langum (Upper Division Musical Theater) both advanced to the semi-finals in their categories.
10.19.2009
The HSU Trombone Quartet (Zach Coburn, Nathan Cooper, Trae Warner and Eric Shimanek) has been selected to perform at the 2010 Big XII Trombone Conference at Texas Tech University, January 15-17. The students will also have the opportunity to perform in a master class with Ko'ichiro Yamamoto (Principal Trombonist of the Seattle Symphony).
The quartet will also accompany their teacher, Dr. Martin McCain, on the January 16th faculty recital.
2.5.2009
Dr. Charles Welch was the honoree at Tuesday’s President’s Concert. He is pictured with the five outstanding student musicians who performed. Pictured, from left, are: Fredrick Brown, clarinet; Mary Katherine Langum, soprano; Andrew Smith, marimba; Welch; Zach Coburn, trombone; and Jordan Griffin, horn.
1.30.2009
HSU Wind Ensemble
Thursday, February 5th
7:30 PM
Arkansas Hall
Free Admission
The concert is entitled "An American Remix" and features music by American composers with a twist -- each composition has a foreign influence . The ensemble will begin the concert with "Sound the Bells" by renown film composer John Williams. HSU horn instructor Mr. David Renfro will be featured in a Pulitzer-prize nominated horn concerto entitled "The Glass Bead Game," by Indiana composer James Beckel. Venerable American composer Charles Ives composed a great deal of music for organ, and the Wind Ensemble will play a transcription of one of these works entitled "Variations on 'Jerusalem the Golden.'" New HSU Assistant Director of Bands Dr. Justin Stolarik will guest conduct one of Percy Grainger's most popular character pieces, "Molly on the Shore." Another talented music faculty member, Dr. Rick Dimond, will be featured on jazz piano performing composer David Amram's latin inspired work "En Memoria de Chano Pozo." The concert closes with a composition by the iconic Leonard Bernstein, entitled "Slava!"
For those who are unable to attend the Henderson Wind Ensemble performance in person, you can still listen online during the live concert! Visit www.hsuband.com five minutes before the concert to listen to the live webcast.
1.30.2009
The Henderson State University Concert Choir again joins the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra in performances of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. The last movement of this famous symphony includes the Johann Schiller poem “Ode to Joy” which Beethoven set for chorus and orchestra. The “Ode to Joy” tune is a very familiar melody that is know world-wide. The Henderson Concert Choir is honor to join the ASO in this Masterworks Concert series performance. Make your plans to attend this exciting event.
February 28, 2009, 8:00 p.m. - Robinson Center Music Hall, Little Rock
March 1, 2009, 3:00 p.m. – Robinson Center Music Hall, Little Rock
Tickets start at $17; Student Rush Tickets $6
www.ArkansasSymphony.org or call 501-666-1761 for ticket information
1.29.2009
Stellar Brass (quintet plus percussion) from the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, will present a concert and master classes at Henderson State University on Tuesday, February 10, 2009:
Stellar Brass Concert, 7:30 pm, Arkansas Hall - free admission, tickets required (see below)
Brass master class, 4 pm, Harwood Recital Hall - free admission, no ticket required
Percussion master class, 4 pm, Evanson Band Hall - free admission, no ticket required
Free tickets for the evening concert may be obtained by sending a self-addressed, stamped envelope to:
Stellar Brass Tickets
c/o Mrs. Teresa Jester
HSU Box 7733
Arkadelphia, AR 7199-0001
Arkadelphia native Gary Poffenbarger plays tuba with Stellar Brass.
For more information on Stellar Brass and Gary Poffenbarger, please see the following web pages:
http://www.usafacademyband.af.mil/ensembles/BandEnsembleBio.asp?EnsembleID=20 – Stellar Brass
http://www.usafacademyband.af.mil/ensembles/BandBio.asp?BandBioID=239 – Gary Poffenbarger
1.29.2009
Dr. Charles Welch will be honored at Henderson State University’s annual President’s Concert on Tuesday, Feb. 3. Welch became Henderson’s 15th president on July 1, 2008.
The annual concert features the talents of Henderson students and faculty, and is funded, in part, by the Mae Whipple Music Endowment. The concert pays tribute to individuals or groups who have been instrumental in advancing the university and its academic programs.
Past President’s Concert honorees include: Dr. Charles Dunn, Dr. John G. Hall, the Board of Trustees, Betty Bruner, Eugene Kuyper, Jesse Branch, Paul Barringer, and the Diamond Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross.
Welch came to Henderson from the University of Arkansas Community College at Hope where he had served as chancellor since 2005. He was vice chancellor for academic affairs at Arkansas State University-Beebe from 2003-2005, and he served as dean of University Studies at Pulaski Technical College in North Little Rock from 2000-2003. Welch and his wife Mandy have two children, Wheatley and Emma.
The concert will start at 7:30 p.m. in the Russell Fine Arts Harwood Recital Hall. Rick Dimond and Stephen Eaves will conduct the concert, which will include performances by:
• Zach Coburn on trombone. Coburn is a junior working on his bachelor of music in performance degree. He is a student of Dr. Jonathan Whitaker. Coburn will perform Allegro Giacosa from Concerto for Trombone by Eric Ewazen.
• Katie Langum, soprano. Langum is a junior working on her bachelor of music in education degree. She is a student of Dr. Laura Storm. Langum will perform Ach, ich fuhl’s from Die ZauberFlote by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
• Jordan Griffin on horn. Griffin is a sophomore seeking his bachelor of music in education degree. He is a student of David Renfro. Griffin will perform Allegro from Concerto No. 1 in E Flat Major, Opus 11 by Richard Strauss.
• Fredrick M. Brown on clarinet. Brown is a senior working on his bachelor of music in education degree. He is a student of Dr. Steven Becraft. Brown will perform Rondo from Concerto in A Major for Clarinet, K. 622 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
• Andrew Smith on marimba. Smith, a senior seeking his bachelor of music in education degree, is a student of Dr. Rick Dimond. He will perform Fantasy of Japanese Wood Prints by Alan Hovhaness.
The performers will be accompanied by an orchestra comprised of string players from the Arkansas Symphony, along with wind and percussion musicians who are faculty and students at Henderson.
The concert is free and open to the public. For more information, call 870-230-5036. Tax deductible donations to support the President’s Concert may be made to the HSU Foundation-President’s Concert.
1.25.2009
Dr. Juhn, the Director of Keyboard Studies, invites a world-class violinist to Arkansas for Violin/Piano concerts. Violinist Nina Bodnar (photo attached) is a Gold-medalist of Jacques Thibaud International Violin Competition in France and a former concertmaster of St. Louis Symphony Orchestra under the renowned conductor Leonard Slatkin. Ms. Bodnar and Dr. Juhn will perform Valentine's Concert at Henderson on February 16th, Monday, at 7:30 (free admission). They will also perform a benefit concert for the Hot Springs Music Festival on February 15th (tickets at the door).
1.25.2009
Piano Concert Series Announced
The Keyboard division launches a Piano Concert Series. The guest pianists include David Cartledge (associate chair of Piano Department at Indiana University, Bloomington), Jura Margulis (Professor of Piano at University of Arkansas, Fayetteville), among others.
The first Piano Series is by pianist Mary Scott Goode (associate professor at Texarkana College) on March 14, Saturday, at 3:00
