The Missouri State University Music Department presents the annual Masterworks President’s Concert on Sunday, May 5, 4-6 p.m. at Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts. This year’s performance includes two exceptional pieces, “Belshazzar’s Feast” by William Walton, and Anton Bruckner’s “Te Deum.” The concert features the MSU Symphony Orchestra, directed by Dr. Robert Quebbeman, and the combined choirs, under the direction of Dr. Guy Webb. Event is free and open to the public.
String Fling, marking its twelfth year, returns in late July to offer intensive string instrument study to talented students in middle school and high school. Students in private lessons who have completed grade 7 or higher are invited to study on the Missouri State University campus from July 28-31.
Students will be coached by the University’s full-time string faculty, which includes Dr. David Hays, Dr. Amy Muchnick and Dr. Michael A. Murray, and also benefit from guest faculty instruction. They receive chamber music and string orchestra assignments, rehearse with different coaches, and perform a concert at the end of the program.
“Students gain valuable musicianship skills like teamwork, focus, practice techniques, injury prevention, and advice from our faculty as well as great masters (on video) and more,” Hays, professor of violin and concertmaster for the Springfield Symphony Orchestra, says. “Chamber music, in which the participants are often alone or nearly alone on their individual parts, emphasizes listening and independence in execution. Missouri State’s is one of only a few string camps in the U.S. using chamber music at the middle-school level.” Hays adds that many String Fling alumni attend the University and comprise some of the music department’s finest students.
The program fee is $295 per student for tuition and lodging. Students are encouraged to apply and pay online. A nonrefundable $25 application fee is due with the application by June 17. The application fee is not included in the program fee. A teacher’s recommendation should be emailed to Muchnick at StringFling@MissouriState.edu. Students will live on campus in a University residence hall for the duration of the program; they will also be served three meals daily from one of the residential dining halls. A staff of counselors supervise residential life.
Join the Missouri State University Opera Theatre for an afternoon of music, fun, passion, vengeance and love as it presents the classic Mozart opera, “The Magic Flute.” Performances take place Friday, April 19, 7:30-9:30 p.m., and Sunday, April 21, 3-5 p.m., at the Ellis Hall Recital Hall.
“The Magic Flute” highlights talent from across the College of Arts & Letters (COAL) community. The cast includes 27 undergraduate and graduate student performers from various programs including music education, voice performance, BFA acting, graduate pedagogy, English and theatre education under the direction of Ann Marie Wilcox-Daehn. Art & Design students from Dr. Eric Pervukhin’s class created the scenery projections for the show. Props for the show were designed by COAL faculty, including a dragon puppet designed by Theatre & Dance Instructor Dr. Jennifer Stoessner.
A lecture illustrating the importance and symbolism of Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” will be presented one hour prior to performances by senior music education major Andrew McIntyre. Attendees also have the opportunity to learn more about the creative process from the projections created by Pervukhin’s class.
The MSU Flute Society, and the MSU Music Department along with SOFAC invite you to the twelfth annual MSU Flute Day, Saturday, April 20, on the campus of Missouri State University. This event is free and open to the public.
Guest artist Robert Dick headlines a program that features a high school competition, two recitals, a composition class, yoga for flutist, and a masterclass for University flute students. David Samperi, flute seller and repairman, will have flutes and piccolos available all day to try and purchase. Brands represented include Haynes, Powell, Muramatsu, Miyazawa, Trevor James, and Samperi’s own brand.
The Young High School Artist Competition, starting at 9:00 a.m., kicks off festivities. Area high school flutists each perform one movement of a piece and the judges’ top three finishers win cash prizes. To enter, email student name and repertoire information to Dr. Jill Heyboer by April 15.
Following the competition is a Flute Ensembles Recital, featuring the University Community Flute Choir, the University Flute Quartet, and other exciting chamber music groups. Next, Dick talks composition in a class entitled “A Plan for Success with Extended Techniques in Composition.” All current and/or aspiring composers are invited to attend. After the class, enjoy lunch at the nearby Plaster Student Union or other convenient options within a mile of campus.
The day continues as the world-renowned flutist, Dick performs an unforgettable recital of solo flute music, including many of his own compositions, as well as traditional solo flute repertoire. Next, flutist and yoga teacher, Margaret Rowley, teaches yoga moves that will help better your flute playing. Bring a mat to participate if you have one!
In the final event of Flute Day, Dick teaches MSU flute students in a masterclass. Listen and learn from this artist as he explains and demonstrates what you can do to be a better flutist.
Dr. Jill Heyboer
Since 2001, Jill Heyboer, professor of music, has held Flute Day on campus as a means of bringing together flute students and professional artists. Heyboer is currently the principal flutist in Springfield Symphony Orchestra. She coaches and conducts the University Flute Quartet and participates in the Faculty Woodwind Quintet. Heyboer also participates in the annual Interlochen Arts Camp in Michigan, serving as a faculty member and coach of flute and chamber music.
Guest artist Robert Dick lives in New York City and is on the faculty and New York University. He holds a B.A. from Yale University and an M.M. in composition from the Yale School of Music. With equally deep roots in classical music, old and new, and in free improvisation and new jazz, Dick has established himself as an artist who has not only mastered, but redefined the flute. His performances typically include flute, piccolo, alto flute, and bass flutes in C and F. On special occasions, he’ll bring out the giant, stand-up contrabass flute.
As one of the flute world’s most respected masterclass teachers, Dick has been in residence in literally hundreds of universities, colleges, and conservatories throughout the US, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Dick’s multifaceted musical life includes work on redesigning the flute itself. Brannen Brothers Flutemakers manufactures his invention, the “Glissando Headjoint”, which does for the flute what the “whammy bar” does for the electric guitar. Emerson Flutes also makes a Robert Dick Model bass flute. Dick has authored and published, on his Multiple Breath Music imprint, a number of seminal works for contemporary flute, including “The Other Flute: A Performance Manual of Contemporary Techniques,” “Tone Development Through Extended Techniques,” “Circular Breathing for the Flutist,” and “Flying Lessons: Six Contemporary Concert Etudes.”
The annual Composition Festival brings internationally acclaimed composers to the campus of Missouri State University to inspire, teach, and interact with students from across the music department and the larger campus community. These interactions include concerts and rehearsals of the guest composer’s works by department ensembles, students, faculty, and guest performers; performances of student and faculty compositions; presentations to classes and to the general public; one-on-one lessons with composition majors; and master classes with small groups of students. Events are free and open to the public.
Presentation I – 1-2:45 p.m. Ellis Hall 305 Hanna Kulenty discusses her music
Concert III – 7:30 p.m. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts
Music of Hanna Kulenty, John Prescott, Wang Yi, Damijan Močnik, and Stephen Paulus performed by the Missouri State University Symphony Orchestra and Concert Chorale conducted by Robert Quebbeman and Guy Webb
Wednesday, March 6
Concert IV – 7:30 p.m. Ellis Recital Hall 217b
Music of Hanna Kulenty, Michael Murray, and MSU student composers performed by Jeremy Chesman, David Hays, Peter Collins, and MSU students
Guest performers
Hanna Kulenty
Hanna Kulenty is a Polish composer of contemporary classical music living both in Warsaw (Poland) and in Arnhem (The Netherlands). The recipient of numerous commissions and scholarships, she has worked as a freelance composer since 1989. Kulenty has composed 2 operas, 12 works for large orchestra and more than 60 other pieces. In 1990 she was guest composer at DAAD in Berlin. In 1999/2000 she was composer-in-residence with Het Gelders Orkest in The Netherlands. She lectured at the Other Minds 10 festival (San Francisco) and at Soundstreams Canada in 2005. In that same year she was guest professor at the Conservatory of Zwolle. In 2007 she was guest professor at the ESMuC, Music Academy in Barcelona.
Kulenty writes for solo instruments, chamber groups, large orchestras, opera, television plays and film. Her compositions have been premiered during festivals throughout the world, including Huddersfield Festival, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Münchener Biennale, Warsaw Autumn, Musica Polonica Nova and the Netherlands Music Days. Her numerous orchestral pieces have been performed by symphony orchestras in Holland, Denmark, Poland and Germany, conducted by David Porcelijn, Antoni Wit, Peter Hirsch, Peter Eötvös, Ingo Metzmacher, Renato Rivolta and Ronald Zollman. Recently she was commissioned by Kronos Quartet, for whom she wrote her 4th and 5th string quartets.
Elizabeth Moak
Noted for her “sensitivity” and “generous imagination” (La Suisse, Geneva, Switzerland), pianist Elizabeth Moak has performed throughout the United States (including national television and radio) and internationally. Winner of the Mu Phi Epsilon International Competition and several national competitions including the National Federation of Music Clubs Biennial Collegiate Competition, Elizabeth Moak holds degrees from the Conservatoire de Musique de Neuchâtel (Switzerland) and the Peabody Conservatory (studies with Leon Fleisher, Lillian Freundlich, Julian Martin, and Ann Schein).
Critics have recently given commendatory attention to Moak’s 2012 debut solo recording Art Fire Soul: Piano Music of Judith Lang Zaimont, recorded at the request of and under the guidance of the composer, and cited Moak’s “brio, assurance, and remarkable talent” (ResMusica, France) as well as her “musicianship and panache” (Classical Net). Art Fire Soul was selected for American Record Guide’s “Critics’ Choice 2012” (Jan./Feb. 2013).
The Connection portion of the evening includes complimentary hors d’oeuvres, a cash bar, MSU memento for each guest, the latest University news, and door prizes. Cabaret features live entertainment on the stage of (le) poisson rouge, showcasing the best of MSU student talent, including musical theatre graduating seniors under the direction of Heather Luellen and the Jazz Studies Ensemble under the direction of Randy Hamm.
Event is open to alumni, parents, family, and visitors. Reservations are requested by March 6. Register online or contact the Alumni Association at alumni@missouristate.edu or call 417-836-5654.
Missouri State students recently competed in the Ozark National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Music Theatre Auditions at Drury University. MSU students performed exceptionally well, with four first place winners and two second place winners out of eight divisions.
The Ozark local chapter of NATS hosts music theatre auditions each spring to promote music theatre performance in southwest Missouri. This year six schools were represented and over 58 singers performed. The additions provide the opportunity for performance, adjudication and reflection, while supporting fellow singers, and networking within the local chapter.
“NATS Auditions are a great opportunity for singers to receive feedback from other voice teachers in the area, to try out new repertoire, or just to get up and perform. I would encourage all singers to participate! At the end of the day, it’s not about winning. Sure, everyone likes to win something. But, in my opinion, the point is to see what you can accomplish as a singer and an artist and what you take away from it as a learning experience. As performers, it is an opportunity to put everything we’ve been working on in lessons into practice in an environment that is helpful and promotes individual growth,” first place winner Traci Pritchard commented.
Division 3 – Lower Division Men
1st place – TJ Chatman (Grace St. Pierre)
2nd place – Mitch Brauer (Paula Patterson)
Division 4 – Lower Division Women
2nd place – Kelsey Pressnall (Amanda Taylor)
Division 6 – Upper Division Women
1st place – Kassandra Wright (Carol Chapman)
Division 7 – Advanced Men
1st place – Martin Wilson (Chris Thompson)
Division 8 – Advanced Women
1st place – Traci Pritchard (Chris Thompson)
Particpants
Jagger Bowers, Alex Baylard, Loriana Biscari, Madeline Bowdon, Travis Burbee, Nick Driscoll, Alicia Douglas, Kayleigh Greenwood, Carly Hayes, Samantha Hayes, Lizzie Klemm, Leah Koclanes, Amelia Lawson, Christi McCarthy, Mary Kate Moore, Ellen Oswald, Zachary Russell, Alana St. John, Ellen Spann, Kristen Walker, Adam Williams
Pianist
James Benecasa, Alex Huff, Ryan Hunt, Heather Luellen, Jeanie Raney
Dr. David Hays and Dr. Peter Collins, professors of music in the College of Arts and Letters at Missouri State University, have released a CD entitled “Lullaby and Nocturne.” The album consists of 18 tracks suitable for children and adults.
“Lullabies exist in every culture and many beautiful lullabies have been composed or arranged for the violin,” said Hays. “We also expanded the idea of music of sleep to encompass ‘night music,’ for the nocturne is music of the night.”
The university awarded the professors a faculty research grant in the fall of 2010, covering most the cost of recording and editing for the project. The album was approved for production by MSR Classics, a leading United States producer of classical music, through a selective process in summer 2012.
“The inspiration for the CD came partly from conversations I had with my mother, Barbara Hays, about lullabies as part of music therapy,” said Hays. “She learned in her study of music therapy that lullabies have been used with adult patients as well as children.”
Hays has been one of several musicians on a number of albums but “Lullaby and Nocturne” will be his first solo CD. Collins has recorded approximately 12 CDs, several as a solo artist.
“We believe the project is important because the works have artistic merit and stylistic range and some are virtually unknown,” said Hays. “We also believe the CD can be used in various therapeutic settings.”
For more information, contact Hays at (417) 836-5552 or visit the MSR Classics site.
Courtesy Missouri State’s Office of University Communications
The Missouri State University department of music invites singers to participate in the annual Masterworks concert from 4–6 p.m. May 5 by joining the community choir. The collegiate chorale will perform William Walton’s “Belshazzar’s Feast” and Anton Bruckner’s “Te Deum.”
The choir meets from 6–7:50 p.m. Thursday evenings, and participation may count for class credit. Rehearsals will begin Jan. 31 in the Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts, Room 305. Auditions are not required for those with previous choral experience.
The concert will feature the Missouri State symphony orchestra, directed by Dr. Robert Quebbeman, and the combined choirs, under the direction of Dr. Guy Webb.
The event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Webb at (417) 836-5182 or come to the one of the first rehearsals.
Courtesy Missouri State’s Office of University Communications
Graber and La Manna are both faculty of the State University of New York (SUNY) at Oswego.
Graber, an associate professor of voice, has performed professionally with numerous American Opera companies, including the Des Moines Metro Opera, Central City Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre, Cleveland Lyric and Toledo Opera. He made his European debut in Biel, Switzerland, singing the role of Ferrando in Mozart’s “Così fan tutte.” Besides his work as a soloist, Graber is a founding member of the vocal ensemble SATB. Currently in its twentieth year performing together, the quartet sings vocal chamber music throughout the U.S. as well as performing classic Broadway selections and vocal jazz with Pops Orchestras.
Juan La Manna, pianist
La Manna is the orchestra conductor and piano faculty. Prior to Oswego, he lived in the Kansas City area, where he was conductor for the State Ballet of Missouri and directed for the late Rudolf Nureyev. Recently he has conducted for Miami City Ballet, Ballet de Monterrey, and Teatro Lirico D’Europa, leading orchestras such as the Cleveland Orchestra and the Naples Philharmonic. He performs regularly at the piano as a chamber musician, playing recitals in the central New York area.
The concert features a multimedia presentation of original artwork (shown below) created by Oswego students and inspired by Schubert’s music.
Graber, who was a professor at MSU from 2000-2002, will be teaching a master class in Ellis Recital Hall on Thursday, Feb. 21, 1:30-3 p.m. All are invited to attend.
Event is free and open to the public.
Original artwork by Oswego students for projection during concert
The Missouri State University Music Department presents the annual Masterworks President’s Concert on Sunday, May 5, 4-6 p.m. at Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts. This year’s performance includes two exceptional pieces, “Belshazzar’s Feast” by William Walton, and Anton Bruckner’s “Te Deum.” The concert features the MSU Symphony Orchestra, directed by Dr. Robert Quebbeman, and the combined choirs, under the direction of Dr. Guy Webb. Event is free and open to the public.
The Missouri State University department of music invites singers to participate in the annual Masterworks concert from 4–6 p.m. May 5 by joining the community choir. The collegiate chorale will perform William Walton’s “Belshazzar’s Feast” and Anton Bruckner’s “Te Deum.”
