Axe ’Em, Jacks!
SFA music faculty members Jennifer Dalmas, associate professor of violin and viola, and Andrew Parr, professor of piano, will present "French Music" at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 3, in Cole Concert Hall.NACOGDOCHES - The Stephen F. Austin State University School of Music will present collaborative faculty and guest recitals in early February as part of its Cole Performing Arts Series.
SFA music faculty members Jennifer Dalmas, associate professor of violin and viola, and Andrew Parr, professor of piano, will present "French Music" at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 3, in Cole Concert Hall.
"I chose this theme because I have always loved French music, especially of the Romanic and Impressionistic periods," Dalmas said. "There are such wonderful composers to choose from, with such special and individual voices."
Among the works to be featured are Sonate Posthume by Maurice Ravel, Theme and Variations by Olivier Messiaen, Deux Morceaux by Lili Boulanger and Violin Sonata in A major by Cesar Franck.
"The first half of the program will focus on 'youthful' works written by Ravel, Messiaen and Boulanger when they were all in their 20s - not much older than our students at SFA," Dalmas said. "Even though these compositions are early pieces for these composers, they are all excellent examples of each composer's style.
"The second piece on the program, the Violin Sonata by Cesar Franck, is a piece written in the composer's full maturity," she said, "and is truly one of the greatest examples of violin chamber music, from any period."
Christina Guenther, associate professor of flute at SFA, and guest pianist Gustavo Bianchi will present "20th Century Classics for Flute and Piano" at 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 7, in Cole Concert Hall. The duo will perform sonatas by Francis Poulenc, Paul Hindemith, Bohuslav Martinu and Otar Taktakishvili.
Guenther joined the SFA School of Music faculty in 2005. She performs actively in the greater East Texas area, throughout the United States and in Central and South America. She is a founding member of the Gemini Flute duo and plays regularly with the Shreveport, La., Longview, Marshall and Texarkana symphony orchestras.
Brazilian-Italian pianist Bianchi has enjoyed a distinguished international career, having performed in halls across the U.S., South America and Asia. Among his long list of honors and awards are prizes at the Sidney Wright Piano Accompanying Competition, the prestigious Bartók and Kabalevsky International Piano Competition, the Byrd Piano Competition and the Florida Young Chang Artist Competition.
Internationally renowned flutist Marianne Gedigian, professor of flute at The University of Texas in Austin and former acting principal flutist of the Boston Symphony, will present a recital with collaborative pianist Colette Valentine at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 9, in Cole Concert Hall.
Gedigian has been heard on dozens of recordings and the "Evening at Pops" television broadcasts as well as the nationally broadcast Fourth of July specials. She has also been heard on several of John Williams' movie scores, including "Saving Private Ryan" and "Schindler's List." Her solo performances have taken her around the world, including performing recitals in Japan, Australia, England and Armenia.
Valentine, one of the most active professional collaborative pianists in the United States, is on the faculty of the Collaborative Piano Department at UT-Austin's Butler School of Music. As a free-lance musician, she performs with singers and instrumentalists of every variety and has collaborated on recordings for the Albany, Antara, CRI, fontec and Well-Tempered labels.
Tickets for the Cole Performing Arts Series events are $5 for adults, $4 for seniors and $2 for students. For tickets or more information, call the Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407.