Axe ’Em, Jacks!
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Stephen F. Austin State University's Percussion Ensemble will perform with guest artist Dr. Joshua Knight at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 8, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.
Under the direction of Dr. Brad Meyer, director of percussion studies for the SFA School of Music, the ensemble will perform the music of Dwayne Rice and Nathan Daughtrey, among others.
Meyer and Knight, who is director of percussion studies at McMurry University, will collaborate to perform Blake Tyson's "Vertical River," a duet for marimba and vibraphone that reflects the good times Tyson and co-composer John Parks enjoyed during a rafting trip on the Boise River.
Knight will also perform the solo marimba part with a quartet of SFA percussionists on Daughtrey's "Halcyon Days." The composer researched the mythological origins of the phrase "halcyon," which refers to a period of peace and tranquility, to gather more inspiration for the piece, according to Meyer.
The program also features Rice's "Marimba Quartet No. 1" in two movements - "Nocturne" and "Presto."
Knight has performed with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic Orchestra, Lawton Philharmonic Orchestra, Conway Symphony Orchestra, Pine Bluff Symphony Orchestra and the Fort Smith Symphony Orchestra and currently performs with the River Valley Community Band and the Abilene Philharmonic Orchestra. He is active in commissioning and premiering new works for percussion.
Tickets for the concert, which is a presentation of the SFA College of Fine Arts and School of Music, are $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and $3 for students and youth. For tickets or more information, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or visit www.finearts.sfasu.edu.