Music

Nov. 5, 2015 – Pianist Douglas Jurs, assistant professor of music at Allegheny College, will present a free recital at 3:15 p.m. on Saturday, November 14 in the college’s Ford Chapel.

The program will include the “Children’s Corner Suite,” by Claude Debussy; Impromptus, Op. 90, by Franz Schubert; Sonata No. 9, Op. 68, “Black Mass,” by Alexander Scriabin; and “Banjo Quickstep,” by Anthony Philip Heinrich.

Jurs, who is in his first year on the faculty at Allegheny College, has performed throughout North America, Europe and beyond.

Recent performances include a two-week residency in India as a guest of Kolkata Classics, where Jurs presented several collaborative concerts in Kolkata and Jamshedpur, as well as master classes and private lessons for students at the Calcutta School of Music.

Of one of his performances there, The Telegraph wrote, “The performance was spectacular … the pianists had reached a level of near telepathic coordination.” The newspaper went on to note that Jurs was “as impressive as a teacher as he is a performer.”

While on the faculty at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton, Georgia, Jurs performed all over the Southeast with colleagues from throughout the state, including principal musicians from the Albany and Valdosta symphonies.

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.

Jurs received his degrees from the University of Wisconsin – Madison, Cleveland Institute of Music and Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he double majored in piano and English literature and was a Friends of Music Fellow.

He lives in Meadville with his wife and two children.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

April 20, 2015 – The Allegheny College Percussion Ensemble will perform their annual spring concert on Monday, April 27 at 7:30 p.m. on the stage of Shafer Auditorium. The concert is free and open to the public. Audience seating will be on the auditorium stage.

The ensemble’s repertoire includes blues, body percussion, classical, avant garde, African chant and contemporary. Performance compositions include “Overture for Percussion Ensemble,” “Blues by Five (Ten),” “Toccata Without Instruments,” “Call of the Drums,” “Ostinato Pianissimo,” “Peter Gunn,” “Rondo ala Turk,” “A La Samba” and “Who Let That Snare Drummer In?”

The Percussion Ensemble features 10 student performers. Stephen F. Corsi conducts.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

April 20, 2015 – Three free concerts at Allegheny College this weekend will showcase the talents of students, faculty and additional members of the Meadville community. Student chamber ensembles will perform at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, April 24 in Ford Chapel. The Civic Symphony will perform at 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 25 in Shafer Auditorium. And the Wind Symphony and Wind Ensemble will perform at 3:15 p.m. on Sunday, April 26 in Shafer Auditorium.

Friday’s chamber ensemble recital will feature brass, woodwind and string ensembles. The program includes music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Gustav Holst, Charles Gounod, Johann Pachelbel and Anatoly Liadov, among others. Lowell Hepler coaches the brass quintet; Julie Hepler coaches the saxophone ensemble, clarinet ensemble and the woodwind quintet; and Vince Scacchetti coaches and performs in a string quartet and a violin/viola duo.

Cellist and Allegheny College senior Joseph Tonzo will be the featured soloist on Jules Massenet’s “Meditation from Thais” at Saturday’s Civic Symphony concert. The program will also include “A Festival Prelude” by Alfred Reed, Symphony #8 by Franz Schubert, “Hymn and Fuguing Tune #2” by Henry Cowell, “Blue Tango” by LeRoy Anderson and “Sounds from Hollywood – A Medley of Famous Movie Songs,” arranged by Mary Gold. Ronald E. Stitt conducts.

The 85-member Wind Symphony and 40-member Wind Ensemble, which perform on Sunday, are under the direction of Professor of Music Lowell Hepler. The soloists will be mallet percussionists Stephen Anderson, Kyle Murphy and Stephen Corsi in “Serenade for a Picket Fence.” Sunday’s program also includes Henry Fillmore’s march “His Honor,” Frank Ticheli’s “Rest” and “Postcard to Meadville,” John Barnes Chance’s “Incantation and Dance,” Aaron Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man,” Camille De Nardis’ “The Universal Judgment,” Bruce Broughton’s “Silverado” and Thomas Knox’s symphonic band arrangement of “God of Our Fathers.”

Photo: Wind Symphony. Photo by Bill Owen

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

The Allegheny College Chamber Strings and the Select Strings will perform works by Mozart, Albeniz, Corrette and Schneider. The ensembles, which include Allegheny students and faculty as well as members of the Meadville community, are under the direction of Vincent Scacchetti.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Seven members of the Allegheny College Wind Symphony participated in the 68th Annual Pennsylvania Intercollegiate Band, held at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania March 6-8. In addition, one of them was accepted to the National Small College Intercollegiate Band, held at Vanderbilt University March 25-28. The Pennsylvania Intercollegiate Band is the oldest intercollegiate band in the country. All collegiate band members from Pennsylvania are eligible to submit resumes and director recommendations, from which a selection committee chooses each year’s band. Representing Allegheny at the 2015 ICB were clarinetists Lora Waybright ’16, Kelly Pohland ’15, and Melissa Ruszczyk ’16; Daniel Kerschner ’16 on baritone saxophone; Kevin Simpson ’16 on trumpet; Christopher Nardi ’15 on euphonium; and percussionist Kyle Murphy ’16. They joined with 95 other student musicians to form a 102-member band that represented some of the finest student musicians from the state. They were accompanied by Director of Bands Lowell Hepler and Assistant Professor of Music Julie Hepler. Students from the U.S. and Canada are eligible to submit resumes in application for the National Small College Intercollegiate Band, which is a biannual event held at the College Band Directors National Association Conference. Kevin Simpson, trumpet, was selected to be part of the 2015 ensemble at Vanderbilt. Also taking part in the event were Professors Lowell and Julie Hepler, along with Assistant Director of Bands Ronald Stitt.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

March 26, 2015 — The Allegheny College Jazz Band will perform their annual spring concert on Sunday, April 12 at 3:15 p.m. in the lobby of the college’s Campus Center. The concert is free and open to the public.

The program features swing, funk, rock, ballad and jazz. Compositions include “Pick Up the Pieces,” “Something,” “Misty,” “Chameleon,” “Soul Man,” “Gospel John,” “Saxes With Attitude,” “Moonlight Serenade,” “On Broadway,” “I Just Called to Say, I Love You,” “Stormy Weather” and “Peter Gunn.” Instrumental soloists and a vocal soloist will be showcased.

The ensemble, made up of 22 students and two faculty members, is under the direction of Stephen F. Corsi.

Prior to the Jazz Band performance, the Jazz Improvisation class, under the direction of James Froman, will perform blues and jazz music.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

This weekend, members of the greater Meadville community have an opportunity to witness back-to-back farewell performances by pianist Alec Chien. Since 1980, Chien has served as artist-in-residence and professor of music at Allegheny College. After 35 years on the faculty, Chien, 62, has announced plans to retire after the end of the current academic year.

Friday’s concert begins at 7:30 p.m. in Ford Chapel, where Chien performs as guest artist with the Alexander String Quartet. The quartet is also be joined by the Allegheny Chamber Choir.

Saturday’s solo performance is at 3 p.m. in Shafer Auditorium in the college’s Henderson Campus Center.
Both events are free and open to the public.

“I really want these two to be a thank-you to the community,” Chien said. “I think I express myself better with music than with words.”

Read the full article.

Mary Spicer serves as special to The Meadville Tribune.

Photo: Allegheny College senior Ben Zuchelkowski plays the piano while music professor and artist-in-residence Alec Chien jokes with him to keep the session upbeat and fun. Photo by Shannon Roae, The Meadville Tribune.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

The 23-member Allegheny College Jazz Band performed at local schools on February 24. The tour included performances at Neason Hill Elementary School, Meadville Area Senior High School and Conneaut Area Senior High School. Guest performers included Rebecca Matczak ’74 on trumpet and Civic Symphony Director Ronald Stitt on trombone. Tour music featured swing, jazz, rock, funk, big band, ballad and contemporary musical selections, with numerous Jazz Band soloists featured. Repertoire music included “Moonlight Serenade,” “PA 6-5000,” “Pick Up the Pieces,” “September,” “Cool,” “Peter Gunn,” “Saxes With Attitude,” “25 or 6 to 4,” “Something,” “Yesterday,” “A Child Is Born,” “Deacon Jack’s Gospel Shack,” “Soul Man,” “Fly me to the Moon” and “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing).” Stephen F. Corsi is the director of the AC Jazz Band.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

By Kathleen Prosperi-McClard ’11

She’s a photographer, bird enthusiast, musician—and a Gator, too.

Meet the multitalented Lauren Zurchin, a 2002 Allegheny graduate and an award-winning photographer based in Pittsburgh.

A religious studies major with a double minor in music and health studies, Zurchin’s original dream didn’t involve being behind the lens of a camera. In fact, immediately following graduation, she moved to Salt Lake City to study under Matthew Donovan, a renowned evangelical musician she met while attending church in Meadville. Her ultimate goal was to become involved in music ministry.

What she calls “a crisis of faith” occurred, though, and other more enticing opportunities arose: She moved to South Africa, found love and took a few interesting jobs. For instance, she worked with birds at a boarding school in exchange for free room and board and as a high school music teacher. A longing for home, however, sent her back to Pittsburgh at the age of 27, forcing her to start fresh and ask, “What now?”

An unconventional path? Maybe. But she thinks of it as a time of aligned opportunities—brought about by her own tendency to follow her passion that was enhanced by her time at Allegheny—that helped her get to where she is today: “Allegheny gives you the freedom and confidence to explore, play and experiment … to figure out what you are most interested in without being forced to pick one box. I’ve had the life I’ve had so far because of this,” she says.

A transitional job at a bookstore inspired her to experiment with a career in writing. A connection with Jennifer Rees ’95, then an editor at Scholastic Press, through Allegheny’s Office of Development and Alumni Affairs gave her the courage to apply to review books of young adult science fiction and fantasy books on lytherus.com. She is now managing editor of the book department for the site. “I believe it was my friendship with Jennifer that made me feel I could do it,” Zurchin says.

At that point, photography still wasn’t on her mind. That is, not until 2008, when she casually photographed a wedding she attended and received compliments on her images. “I started looking into it,” Zurchin says. “The more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea.” Internships and unpaid gigs quickly led her to start her own business, acting as the principal photographer at Lauren Zurchin Studios. She has been a fulltime photographer since 2010.

“My bread and butter for a few years has been weddings. Because of my relationship with the website for which I write, though, I have also done a photography calendar of fantasy authors for charity, all of which are New York Times best-sellers. Those have been the most interesting shoots I’ve done, having the chance to photograph some of the world’s best fantasy authors in a fantasy setting I created. It’s pretty awesome, working with some of the world’s most creative minds, and the best part, besides playing, is getting to hang out and chat with them.”

Past successes are not enough for Zurchin, however. She’s excited for new changes that the future holds. For example, this year, she has decided to shift to a more online business with classes and workshops, and to add in more ethereal portrait photography. “Since up to this point most of my income has been in weddings or the author calendar, I haven’t needed a studio. But in the new year, I’m going to convert part of my house into a studio, office and prep area for more inside shoots. I want to be able to offer more options to women who like what I do but maybe aren’t comfortable playing in the woods with me around.”

When speaking to the future generation of college students, Zurchin says, “I have had various careers, and I have used multiple elements of my degree. If there is something you know you definitely want to do, go do it. But, if you love everything and if you are pretty good at a lot of things … if you just don’t know what you want to do, Allegheny’s liberal arts education won’t let you down. Just go for it.”

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Leanne Siwicki ’15, Leah Stefanelli ’15, Sarah Stewart ’15, Allie Condon ’16, Chelsea Hubert ’17, and Troy Dinga ’17 recently participated in the Pennsylvania Collegiate Choral Association’s intercollegiate choral festival. Students from colleges and universities across Pennsylvania prepared repertoire by Benjamin Britten, Gabriel Fauré, Wendell Whalum, and other composers before gathering at East Stroudsburg University for two days of rehearsal and a public concert. The singers performed under the direction of Peter Bagley, professor emeritus of music at the University of Connecticut. Allegheny’s participants were prepared by Assistant Professor of Music James Niblock and Staff Accompanist Kevin Dill. Niblock also assisted with the preparation of the massed chorus at ESU.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research