Axe ’Em, Jacks!
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – Dr. Christina Guenther, professor of flute at Stephen F. Austin State University, will join music faculty colleagues in presenting the concert “Controversy and Hope: Music for Flute and …” at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 18, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.
Performing with Guenther will be Dr. Brad Meyer, percussion; Dr. Deb Scott, trombone; Dr. Samantha Inman, flute; and Davidson Reyes, piano.
Works by Gareth Farr, Zachery S. Meier, Angela Oh, Gary Schocker and Valerie Coleman will be performed.
Farr’s “Kembang Suling: Three musical snapshots of Asia” for flute and marimba is in three movements. The first features flowing gamelan melodies intertwined with the sound of the Balinese bamboo flute, suling; the second emulates the Japanese shakuhachi flute floating over the warm echoes of the rolling landscape; and the third features complex rhythms in mixed meter and South Indian scales, setting the two instruments off in a race to see who can outplay the other.
Meier’s “Hush” for flute and trombone was inspired by the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe vs. Wade and what the composer describes as the “nine individuals (who) stole the voices of millions of Americans and their right to healthcare.”
“Personalité Dédoublée” was Oh’s first delve into composing with electronics. She created all the sounds, including the human voice sounds (which are her voice). The work, which literally translates to “split personalities,” explores dissociative identity disorder (formerly known as multiple personality disorder).
Schocker’s “Two Flutes (on the loose) in Fujian” was inspired by the traditional music of the Fujian province in China, incorporating elements of Chinese folk melodies and rhythms. The piece features two flutes playing together in harmony, with intricate interweaving lines and rhythmic syncopations.
Coleman is regarded by the music world as an iconic artist who continues to pave her own unique path as a composer, Grammy-nominated flutist and entrepreneur. The title “FANMI IMÈN” is Haitian Creole for Maya Angelou’s famous work, “Human Family.” “Both the musical and literary poems acknowledge differences within mankind, either due to ethnicity, background or geography, but Angelou’s poetic refrain ‘we are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike,” reaffirms our humanity as a reminder of unity,” according to Coleman.
Tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and $3 for students and youth. To purchase tickets, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or visit the box office website. For additional information, contact the SFA School of Music at (936) 468-4602.