Music

Eleven student musicians from the Allegheny Wind Symphony were chosen to participate in the 2016 Pennsylvania Intercollegiate Band, March 4-6 at Elizabethtown College. They traveled with Professor of Music Lowell Hepler and Assistant Professor of Music Julie Hepler to be part of the all-state honor band. Chosen to represent Allegheny were Celena Turiano ’18, flute; Kelly Pohland ’16, clarinet; Melissa Ruszczyk ’17, clarinet; Dana O’Connor ’18, clarinet; Breanna Whiting ’16, alto clarinet; Perry Rusen-Morohovich ’19, bassoon; Jonathan Schaeffer ’19, baritone saxophone; Kevin Simpson ’16, trumpet; Will Hawkins ’16, trumpet; Abigail Johnson ’18, French horn; and Kyle Murphy ’16, percussion. The Pennsylvania Intercollegiate Band, founded in 1948, is the oldest continuing event of its kind in the United States. The event involves more than 30 colleges and universities and is held at a different school each year. Allegheny College has hosted the event twice, in 1996 and 2009.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Feb. 15, 2016 — The Northwest Passage Trumpet Trio, with pianist Douglas Jurs, will present a recital at 3:15 p.m. on Saturday, February 27, in Ford Chapel at Allegheny College. The concert is free and open to the public. Members of the trio are Josh Boudreau, Jennifer Dearden and Timothy Winfield.

The program will include “Fanfare for St. Edmundsbury,” by Benjamin Britten; “Rhapsody,” by Erik Morales; two Scott Joplin rags, “Easy Winners” and “The Entertainer,” arranged by Uwe Heger; “Andante et Scherzo,” by Joseph Edouard Barat; “Legacies,” by James Stephenson; Sonata No. 21, from “Canzoni e Sonate,” by Giovanni Gabrieli, arranged by David Baldwin; Andante and Allegro from Concerto in D Major, by Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel; “Cinq Bagatelles,” by Pierre Max Dubois; “Suite for Three Trumpets,” by William Presser; and “Bugler’s Holiday,” by Leroy Anderson.

Josh Boudreau, who graduated from Harvard University with a degree in American history, plays with the River City Brass. He has performed as principal trumpet with many groups, including the Altoona, Westmoreland and Butler Symphony Orchestras. Recently, Boudreau has performed regularly with the Pittsburgh Opera as well as freelancing extensively in the Pittsburgh area. He is a member of several smaller ensembles including the Windsor and Keystone brass quintets as well as the Academy Chamber Orchestra of Pittsburgh. Boudreau maintains a private teaching studio.

Jennifer Dearden is an associate professor of music at Allegheny College, where she teaches several levels of music theory, conducts the Allegheny College Civic Symphony, and teaches applied lessons and coaches brass chamber ensembles. A former member of the River City Brass, Dearden has also been an active soloist in western Pennsylvania, having been featured with the Erie Chamber Orchestra and other local groups. She is also a founding member of the French Creek Brass Quintet, which performs regularly in the Meadville area. Dearden recently released her newest CD, “Dialogues,” on the Potenza Music label.

Timothy Winfield is assistant professor of trumpet and music education at
Westminster College, where he conducts the jazz ensemble, coaches brass chamber ensembles, teaches several music education courses, and also teaches applied trumpet lessons. Currently acting principal trumpet with the Butler Symphony Orchestra, he has held positions with the Billings Symphony Orchestra and the Boulder Symphony Orchestra. He has performed with the Pittsburgh Opera Orchestra and the Canton, South Florida, Westmoreland, Johnstown, Steamboat Springs, Corona and Aspen Festival orchestras.

Douglas Jurs is an assistant professor of music at Allegheny College. He has performed throughout the Southeast with colleagues including principal musicians from the Albany and Valdosta symphonies in Georgia. With violinist Brent Williams, member of the award-winning Enhake Quartet, Jurs formed Duo Antheil, a group committed to exploring the diversity of American music for violin and piano. Other recent partners include members of the Azalea String Quartet, New York pianist Tanya Gabrielian, University of Georgia trumpet professor Brandon Craswell and the internationally acclaimed Present Music Ensemble.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Feb. 15, 2016 — The Northwest Passage Trumpet Trio, with pianist Douglas Jurs, will present a recital at 3:15 p.m. on Saturday, February 27, in Ford Chapel at Allegheny College. The concert is free and open to the public. Members of the trio are Josh Boudreau, Jennifer Dearden and Timothy Winfield.

The program will include “Fanfare for St. Edmundsbury,” by Benjamin Britten; “Rhapsody,” by Erik Morales; two Scott Joplin rags, “Easy Winners” and “The Entertainer,” arranged by Uwe Heger; “Andante et Scherzo,” by Joseph Edouard Barat; “Legacies,” by James Stephenson; Sonata No. 21, from “Canzoni e Sonate,” by Giovanni Gabrieli, arranged by David Baldwin; Andante and Allegro from Concerto in D Major, by Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel; “Cinq Bagatelles,” by Pierre Max Dubois; “Suite for Three Trumpets,” by William Presser; and “Bugler’s Holiday,” by Leroy Anderson.

Josh Boudreau, who graduated from Harvard University with a degree in American history, plays with the River City Brass. He has performed as principal trumpet with many groups, including the Altoona, Westmoreland and Butler Symphony Orchestras. Recently, Boudreau has performed regularly with the Pittsburgh Opera as well as freelancing extensively in the Pittsburgh area. He is a member of several smaller ensembles including the Windsor and Keystone brass quintets as well as the Academy Chamber Orchestra of Pittsburgh. Boudreau maintains a private teaching studio.

Jennifer Dearden is an associate professor of music at Allegheny College, where she teaches several levels of music theory, conducts the Allegheny College Civic Symphony, and teaches applied lessons and coaches brass chamber ensembles. A former member of the River City Brass, Dearden has also been an active soloist in western Pennsylvania, having been featured with the Erie Chamber Orchestra and other local groups. She is also a founding member of the French Creek Brass Quintet, which performs regularly in the Meadville area. Dearden recently released her newest CD, “Dialogues,” on the Potenza Music label.

Timothy Winfield is assistant professor of trumpet and music education at
Westminster College, where he conducts the jazz ensemble, coaches brass chamber ensembles, teaches several music education courses, and also teaches applied trumpet lessons. Currently acting principal trumpet with the Butler Symphony Orchestra, he has held positions with the Billings Symphony Orchestra and the Boulder Symphony Orchestra. He has performed with the Pittsburgh Opera Orchestra and the Canton, South Florida, Westmoreland, Johnstown, Steamboat Springs, Corona and Aspen Festival orchestras.

Douglas Jurs is an assistant professor of music at Allegheny College. He has performed throughout the Southeast with colleagues including principal musicians from the Albany and Valdosta symphonies in Georgia. With violinist Brent Williams, member of the award-winning Enhake Quartet, Jurs formed Duo Antheil, a group committed to exploring the diversity of American music for violin and piano. Other recent partners include members of the Azalea String Quartet, New York pianist Tanya Gabrielian, University of Georgia trumpet professor Brandon Craswell and the internationally acclaimed Present Music Ensemble.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Director of Bands and Professor of Music Lowell Hepler served as guest conductor for the 2015 District 5/Westminster Honors Band. The three-day event culminated with a concert at Westminster College on December 5. The band was chosen by audition from high schools in Beaver, Butler, Lawrence, and Mercer Counties.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Director of Bands and Professor of Music Lowell Hepler served as guest conductor for the 2015 District 5/Westminster Honors Band. The three-day event culminated with a concert at Westminster College on December 5. The band was chosen by audition from high schools in Beaver, Butler, Lawrence, and Mercer Counties.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

The Allegheny College Chamber Singers present a concert of sacred and secular duets and trios. Performing will be senior Lauren Dominique and juniors Troy Dinga, Brennen French and Daniel Keitel.

The program includes “Summer Has Passed” from “Four Curmudgeonly Canons,” by P.D.Q. Bach (Peter Schickele); “Fierezza si vaga,” by Giovanni Legrenzi; “Lord God of Abraham” from Felix Mendelssohn’s “Elijah”; the English folk song “Early One Morning,” arranged by Susan Kochanek; “God is my Shepherd” from Antonin Dvorák’s “Biblical Songs”; “Benedicamus Dominum,” by Bartholomaeus Gesius; “Pastorale,” by Camille Saint-Saëns; “Der Wanderer,” by Franz Schubert; “Sweet Power of Song,” by Ludwig van Beethoven; “O del mio dolce ardor,” by Christoph Willibald Gluck; and “Trip it in a ring,” by Henry Purcell.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Dec. 2, 2015 — The Allegheny Choirs, under the direction of James D. Niblock, will perform a free concert at 3:15 p.m. on Saturday, December 5 in Shafer Auditorium at Allegheny College. The Allegheny College Chorus, Chamber Choir, Women’s Ensemble, Men’s Ensemble and Choir will each perform several short works, and the groups will collaborate to close the performance as a massed choir of 140 voices.

With each choir contributing an eclectic assortment of classical works and seasonal selections, listeners can enjoy choral sounds in seven languages spanning five centuries of choral tradition. Highlights will include a number of holiday favorites such as the Ukrainian Carol of the Bells, Gloucestershire Wassail and the traditional carol for the presentation of a Boar’s Head at holiday feasts.

Lesser-known works of the season draw attention to music as a cultural meeting place. Written by Jean de Brebeuf, the stirring Huron Carol was a gift from the Jesuit priest to the Wendat people with whom Brebeuf lived near the settlement of Quebec. In a similar vein, Gaspar Fernandes transcribed a Guinean Christmas song performed by African converts in the European colonies of central America and Mexico.

Other featured works will include Hugo Wolf’s setting of the dramatic story of the fire-rider — a mythical figure who rode atop his horse into innumerable fires to squelch the flames. C.V. Standford’s setting of The Blue Bird is also a staple of the repertoire and will be performed by the Chamber Choir. Though less well-known, Schubert’s setting of La Pastorella is a notable addition to the program and a charming example of the composer’s writing in choral songs.

Collaborating with the choirs are pianists Kevin Dill, music director at First Presbyterian Church, and Allegheny Professor Emeritus of Music Ward Jamison. In addition to dazzling piano accompaniments, the audience can expect to hear percussion, handbells and an array of student soloists augmenting the work of the ensembles.

Admission is free and open to the public. Audience members are encouraged to use the balcony as well as the main floor of the auditorium.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Nov. 16, 2015 – Allegheny College student chamber ensembles will present a free recital at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, November 20 in the college’s Ford Chapel.

Performing will be the Flute Ensemble, Clarinet Ensemble, Saxophone Ensemble, Trumpet Ensemble and Woodwind Quintet. The program will include music by Gustav Holst, Eric Ewazen, Gioachino Rossini, Henry Mancini, Andrejs Jansons, Samuel Adler and Savario Mercadente, as well as several traditional tunes.

Faculty coaches are Jennifer Dearden for the Trumpet Ensemble, Bronwell Bond for the Flute Ensemble and Julie Hepler for the Saxophone Ensemble, Clarinet Ensemble and Woodwind Quintet.

The 32 students who will perform are all members of the college’s Wind Symphony and/or the Civic Symphony.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Nov. 16, 2015 — The Allegheny College Wind Symphony will present its 2015 Fall Concert on Sunday, November 22 at 3:15 p.m. in the college’s Shafer Auditorium. Admission is free of charge. The Saxophone and Flute Ensembles will provide pre-concert music in the Campus Center lobby.

The Wind Symphony is under the direction of Lowell Hepler, professor of music and chair of the Department of Music. The featured trumpet soloists for the concert are Allegheny College juniors William Hawkins, Jacob Patterson and Kevin Simpson.

The Wind Symphony is an 80-member symphonic band, with membership open by audition to all Allegheny College students. Wind Symphony students have been honored at the state level through acceptance to the Pennsylvania Intercollegiate Band and at the national level through acceptance to the National Small College Intercollegiate Band and the National Wind Ensemble at Carnegie Hall.

Sunday’s program includes the premiere performance of “Crimson, Blue and White,” a march written by Ronald Stitt, assistant director of bands at Allegheny. The march is based on the fight song for Ft. LeBoeuf High School, where Stitt taught for many years before his retirement.

Works by two additional western Pennsylvania composers are on the program: Jack Stamp’s “Junket” and Sam Hazo’s “Arabesque.”

The symphony will also play “Fanfare: A Vision and a Dream,” by Ryan Nowlin; “Fantasia in G Major,” a work for organ transcribed for symphonic band by R.F. Goldman; “Bugler’s Holiday,” for three trumpet soloists with band; “Second Suite in F for Military Band,” by Gustav Holst; Frank Ticheli’s “An American Elegy,” written for the Columbine High School Wind Ensemble in memory of those who lost their lives there on April 20, 1999; “Molly on the Shore,” by Percy Grainger; and “Crosley March,” by Henry Fillmore.

Will Hawkins is a mathematics major and music minor at Allegheny. From Steelton, Pennsylvania, he is a student of Jennifer Dearden. In addition to the Wind Symphony, Hawkins has been a member of the Wind Ensemble, Civic Symphony, Jazz Band, Trumpet Ensemble and Brass Quintet.

A chemistry major with minors in biology and political science, Jacob Patterson is from Wexford, Pennsylvania. He is also a member of the Wind Ensemble, Civic Symphony and Trumpet Ensemble. He is the treasurer of Amnesty International, the vice-president of the college’s chemistry club and a Chemistry Ambassador for the American Chemical Society.

A native of Meadville and a biochemistry major and music minor, Kevin Simpson is a student of Jennifer Dearden. He is also a member of the Wind Ensemble, Civic Symphony, Jazz Combo, Jazz Band and Trumpet Ensemble, as well as the French Creek Brass Quintet and Diamond in the Rough. He was a member of the 2015 National Small College Intercollegiate Band and of the 2014 and 2015 Pennsylvania Intercollegiate Bands.

Lowell Hepler is director of bands at Allegheny College. He has served as a guest conductor for honor bands ranging from County through All-State levels, and as an adjudicator for PMEA Music Assessments.

Hepler recently retired from his position as Principal Tuba with the Erie Philharmonic Orchestra. He remains the Principal Tuba for the Lake Erie Ballet Company.

He has served as President of the Pennsylvania Collegiate Bandmasters Association and the Pennsylvania Chapter of Phi Beta Mu, Honorary Bandmasters Fraternity. He has also served as the Pennsylvania state chair of the College Band Directors National Association.

Hepler was the 2010 recipient of the Nu Chapter, Phi Beta Mu Bandmaster of the Year Award and the 2013 Julian Ross Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Nov. 13, 2015 — Stephen Anderson and Kyle Murphy, students in the Department of Music at Allegheny College, will present their senior percussion recital on Monday, November 23, at 7 p.m. in the college’s Shafer Auditorium. The public is invited to this free performance, with seating on stage with the performers.

The program includes works by John Beck, Jessica Muniz, Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frideric Handel, Morris Goldenberg, Richard Peterson and James L. Moore.

Wendy Plyler is the piano accompanist for the recital. Anderson and Murphy are percussion students of Stephen F. Corsi.

Photo by Aleäa Rae

Source: Academics, Publications & Research