Percussion Ensemble Takes Audience on Safari
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LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 28, 2008) − More than 250 instruments and implements will
fill the stage when the University of Kentucky
Percussion Ensemble, under the direction of James Campbell, presents its
fall concert at 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 2, at the Singletary Center for the Arts Concert
Hall. Bluegrass audiences are invited to arrive early and take a "sonic safari"
through this percussive jungle at a pre-concert demonstration on stage from 2:15 p.m. to
curtain time. Audience members will receive a guided tour of membranophones, idiophone,
and aerophones, as well as other instruments that go “pop,” bang,” and
“crash.” The demonstration and concert are free and open to the
public.
Featured on the concert program is a world premiere of "Could be Anything" by student composer Brian Nozny. His work takes inspiration from such composers as Tito Puente and Michel Camilo. While the piece isn’t set in a traditional Afro-Cuban style, and some rules of that style of music were broken during the compositional process, it remains to be a piece that evokes the spirit of Afro-Cuban music.
Miles Osland, professor of saxophone and director of Jazz Studies at UK, will be a featured soloist on Nozny’s arrangement of "Saturday at the Buckleys’," an original composition by graduate student Joe Carucci, who also performs as a featured soloist.
Another work showcased at the concert derives its title and inspiration from Peeps, the popular holiday marshmallow confection. This work, "Serving Size 4 Bunnies," is a contribution to what the composer Carl Schimmel refers to as “the seriously under-represented genre of humorous ‘serious music.’”
Five members of the ensemble have been honored with an invitation to perform two works this November at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC) 2008. Both works, "Kalabash" by Australian composer Nigel Westlake and "Aberinkula I" by UK graduate student Kyle Forsthoff, will receive debut performances by the UK Chamber Percussion Group at this concert.
Finally the concert also includes contemporary works by Bob Becker and David Skidmore, as well as one of the earliest compositions for percussion ensemble, "IV," written in 1935 by Johanna Beyer.
UK Percussion Ensemble, under the direction of Campbell, a Provost’s Distinguished Service Professor and director of Percussion Studies at UK School of Music, has won the prestigious Percussive Arts Society Collegiate Percussion Ensemble Contest three times in a row. The feat earned the ensemble a featured performance at PASIC 2007.
For more information on the UK Percussion Ensemble fall concert, contact the UK Percussion Studio at (859) 257-8187.
Featured on the concert program is a world premiere of "Could be Anything" by student composer Brian Nozny. His work takes inspiration from such composers as Tito Puente and Michel Camilo. While the piece isn’t set in a traditional Afro-Cuban style, and some rules of that style of music were broken during the compositional process, it remains to be a piece that evokes the spirit of Afro-Cuban music.
Miles Osland, professor of saxophone and director of Jazz Studies at UK, will be a featured soloist on Nozny’s arrangement of "Saturday at the Buckleys’," an original composition by graduate student Joe Carucci, who also performs as a featured soloist.
Another work showcased at the concert derives its title and inspiration from Peeps, the popular holiday marshmallow confection. This work, "Serving Size 4 Bunnies," is a contribution to what the composer Carl Schimmel refers to as “the seriously under-represented genre of humorous ‘serious music.’”
Five members of the ensemble have been honored with an invitation to perform two works this November at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC) 2008. Both works, "Kalabash" by Australian composer Nigel Westlake and "Aberinkula I" by UK graduate student Kyle Forsthoff, will receive debut performances by the UK Chamber Percussion Group at this concert.
Finally the concert also includes contemporary works by Bob Becker and David Skidmore, as well as one of the earliest compositions for percussion ensemble, "IV," written in 1935 by Johanna Beyer.
UK Percussion Ensemble, under the direction of Campbell, a Provost’s Distinguished Service Professor and director of Percussion Studies at UK School of Music, has won the prestigious Percussive Arts Society Collegiate Percussion Ensemble Contest three times in a row. The feat earned the ensemble a featured performance at PASIC 2007.
For more information on the UK Percussion Ensemble fall concert, contact the UK Percussion Studio at (859) 257-8187.