SFA Bassoon Ensemble to perform program of classical, jazz, popular music

The SFA Bassoon Ensemble

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - The Bassoon Ensemble at Stephen F. Austin State University will present a concert at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 21, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.

The program will feature arrangements of classical, Latin, jazz and popular music, according to Staci Spring, bassoon and musicology instructor in the SFA School of Music.

Joining the ensemble will be guest bassoonist Dr. Jeff Womack, associate professor of music at Angelo State University. He will perform with the ensemble and also perform solos with piano and on contrabassoon. Keith Lloyd, SFA music faculty member, will accompany the ensemble on percussion, and graduate student Milton Fernandez will accompany Womack on piano.

The SFA Bassoon Ensemble will perform "March to the Scaffold" from Hector Berlioz's famous "Symphonie Fantastique," as well as popular tunes such as "House of the Rising Sun" and John Williams' "Cantina" from the "Star Wars" soundtrack.

Womack will perform a solo feature with the ensemble entitled "Bassoon Rawk."

"This entertaining piece is written for 10 bassoons, and gives the soloist a chance to explore the gospel/blues style," Spring said.

Womack will also perform a transcription of Gioachino Rossini's "Cavatina from La Gazza Ladra," arranged for bassoon and piano by Frédéric Berr.

"This delightful piece perfectly suits the charming, lyrical and technical capabilities of the bassoon," Spring said.

Spring established the SFA Bassoon Ensemble in 2013. The group consists of music majors and non-majors, as well as faculty members, and they have performed several concerts on and off campus. The group was recently selected to perform a music showcase concert at the 2016 Texas Music Educators Association Conference in San Antonio, and this concert at SFA will feature selections from their TMEA program.

"I am excited to see how the bassoon studio and the ensemble have grown over the past few years," Spring said. "We started very small, and now the ensemble regularly includes eight to 10 players. With the addition of our guest and the percussion, the visual impact will be quite impressive. It will be a very entertaining performance!"

Tickets 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.

Dr. Jeff Womack Keith Lloyd