SFA Percussion Ensemble to present challenging concert
April 13, 2010
NACOGDOCHES, TEXAS - The Percussion Ensemble at Stephen F. Austin State University will perform its annual spring concert at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 22, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.
"Featuring a wide variety of percussion and musical styles, this is one of the most difficult programs the 13-member ensemble has ever presented," said Dr. Scott Harris, SFA director of percussion.
The concert will open with Rob Smith's "Sprint," a large ensemble work that is literally a race to the finish line, explained Harris. "It will leave both the performers and audience members completely breathless."
Other large ensemble works include Nathan Daughtrey's "Limerick Daydreams," which will be conducted by Benbrook graduate student Catherine Conrad, and the keyboard-based "Crown of Thorns" by David Maslanka.
The program also features several chamber works, including John Cage's "Living Room Music," which is performed on various objects typically found in a living room; Brett Dietz' "Sharpened Stick," a drumming quintet based on a Native American war song; and a tambourine trio by Eugene Novotney titled "Intentions."
Longview junior Nathan Brazell will be the featured xylophone soloist on "Log Cabin Blues," a ragtime piece by George Hamilton Green.
"We will close the concert with the highly energetic, and even animalistic, 'African Welcome Piece' by Michael Udow," Harris said.
The concert is a joint presentation of the SFA College of Fine Arts and School of Music.
Tickets are $5 for adults, $4 for seniors and $2 for students. For tickets or more information, please visit www.finearts.sfasu.edu or call (936) 468-6407 or (888) 240-ARTS.