Music

Allegheny College will showcase the musical talents of its students, faculty, and members of the Meadville community with events spanning three days, beginning Saturday, April 29 with a performance by the Civic Symphony. The Civic Symphony will perform at 3:15 p.m. on Saturday, April 29, followed by a performance by the Wind Symphony and Wind Ensemble at 3:15 p.m. on Sunday, April 30. The Percussion Ensemble will wrap up the concerts on Monday, May 1, at 8 p.m. All shows will be held in Allegheny’s Shafer Auditorium and are free and open to the public.

The Civic Symphony kicks off the performance set, featuring 31 students under the direction of Associate Professor of Music Jennifer Dearden. Four faculty members play with the symphony — adjunct instructors Tom Leech and Stephen Corsi, Professor of Modern Languages Phillip Wolfe, and Professor of Political Science John Christie Searles – along with a few community members. They will perform “Russian Sailor’s Dance” by Gliere; “Beseda,” arranged by Robert Bauernschmidt; “Forlana,” from “Five Bagatelles” by Gerald Finzi, featuring senior clarinet soloist Melissa Ruszczyk; three movements from “Dances of Transylvania by Bartok;” “Tarantella” and “Polka” by Rieti; “Saturday Night Waltz” by Copeland; and “Danzas Cubanas” by Robert Sheldon.

On April 30, the Wind Symphony and Wind Ensemble, with 95 students playing in the symphony and 35 in the ensemble, will perform under the direction of Professor of Music Lowell Hepler. Several faculty members are a part of the groups as well – Professor of Biology Dr. Lisa Whitenack plays with the Wind Symphony, adjunct instructor Thomas Leech joins the Wind Ensemble, and Dr. Ronald Stitt, adjunct instructor of trombone, plays with both groups.

Wind Symphony will perform “The Sinfonians” by Clifton Williams; “Irish Tune from County Derry” by Grainger; “Tableaux de Provence” by Paula Maurice, featuring senior soloist alto saxophonist Daniel Kerschner; “Alligator Alley” by Daugherty, featuring the bassoon section; “Mother Earth Fanfare” by Maslanka, conducted by Dearden; “Music for a Festival” by Sparke; “Danzon #2” by Marquez; “Dance of the Jesters” by Tchaikovsky; and “National Emblem March” by Bagley. Wind Ensemble will play “Schottische” and “Cakewalk” from “Suite of Old American Dances” by Bennett, and “Overture to Candide” by Bernstein.

The Percussion Ensemble will perform its annual spring concert on May 1 to conclude the music series. The group’s performance repertoire includes “Caravan,” “Irish Tune From County Derry,” “Three Asiatic Dances,” “Stinkin’ Garbage,” “Take Three,” “Living Room Music,” “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik” and “Hip Hop Deluxe.” The ensemble is composed of seven students from the Music Department and is directed by Stephen F. Corsi. Audience seating will be on the auditorium stage.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

The Allegheny Chamber Singers will perform their annual Opera Scenes program on Saturday, April 29, at 7 p.m., in Ford Chapel. The ensemble includes 10 Allegheny students, and is co-directed by Vicki Jamison and Carol Niblock.

Jamison started the program in 1987, with the first concert in 1988 consisting mainly of solos. “I wanted my students to discover for themselves that opera is the marriage of challenging and beautiful music and drama that is accessible and enjoyable to performer and audience alike,” Jamison said. “I wanted to introduce them to a musical product that for the most part was totally unknown to them.”

The program became a registered course at Allegheny in 2000 that offered students a single credit. In the fall, members present duets, trios, and group numbers from art song and oratorio repertoire, and in the spring they present opera scenes. Vicki Jamison has been the vocal director with Ward Jamison as the accompanist since the group’s formation, and in 2014 Carol Niblock joined as a co-vocal director.

This year’s Chamber Singers group includes Letitia Campo, Brennen French, Ashley Mulrayan, Kyle Donnellly, Louis Fehér-Peiker, Daniel Keitel, Troy Dinga, Morgan Hazzard, Lauren Ottaviani, and Noah Dawgiello. The concert will begin and end with the ensemble performing as an entire group, singing “Hier die Buden, dort die Schenke” from “Martha” by Friedrich von Flotow, and “The Best of All Possible Worlds” from “Candide” by ​Leonard Bernstein.

The rest of the pieces are duets or trios: “Cinque … dieci” and “Crudel perque finora” from “Le Nozze di Figaro” by ​Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; “We are Warriors Three” from “Princess Ida” by Arthur Sullivan; “Per queste tue manine” from “Don Giovanni” by Mozart; “Schelm, halt fest” from “Der Freischütz” ​by Carl Maria von Weber; and “Alle prove venga avanti” from “Il Turco in Italia” by Gioachino Rossini.

Guest director Jessica Sakal is this year’s stage director, and Ward Jamison will accompany the singers.

The performance is free and open to the public, and balcony seating is available.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

The Allegheny College Jazz Band will perform its annual spring concert on Sunday, April 23, 2017 at 3:15 p.m. in the lobby of the college’s Henderson Campus Center. The concert is free and open to the public.

The performance repertoire includes, “C-Jam Blues”, “The Tiger of San Pedro”, “The Girl From Ipanema”, “S’ Wonderful”, “Stompin’ at the Savoy”, “Sweet Georgia Brown”, “Cut the Cake”, “Moon River”, “Killer Joe”, “Somewhere”, and “Satin Doll.”

Instrumental soloists and a vocal soloist will be showcased.

The ensemble, made up of 27 students and one faculty member, is under the direction of Stephen F. Corsi.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

The Allegheny College Jazz Band will perform its annual spring concert on Sunday, April 23, 2017 at 3:15 p.m. in the lobby of the college’s Henderson Campus Center. The concert is free and open to the public.

The performance repertoire includes, “C-Jam Blues”, “The Tiger of San Pedro”, “The Girl From Ipanema”, “S’ Wonderful”, “Stompin’ at the Savoy”, “Sweet Georgia Brown”, “Cut the Cake”, “Moon River”, “Killer Joe”, “Somewhere”, and “Satin Doll.”

Instrumental soloists and a vocal soloist will be showcased.

The ensemble, made up of 27 students and one faculty member, is under the direction of Stephen F. Corsi.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

The Allegheny Choirs, under the direction of James D. Niblock, will perform a free concert at 3:15 p.m. Saturday, April 8, in Shafer Auditorium. The Allegheny College Chorus, Chamber Choir, Women’s Ensemble, Men’s Ensemble, and College Choir will each perform several works, and the groups will collaborate to close the performance as a choir of 111 voices. The concert is free and open to the public.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

The Allegheny Choirs, under the direction of James D. Niblock, will perform a free concert at 3:15 p.m. Saturday, April 8, in Shafer Auditorium. The Allegheny College Chorus, Chamber Choir, Women’s Ensemble, Men’s Ensemble, and College Choir will each perform several works, and the groups will collaborate to close the performance as a choir of 111 voices. The concert is free and open to the public.

The College Chorus will open the concert with “Fair Phyllis I Saw,” a playful English madrigal by John Farmer about a young shepherdess and her lover. Jewish composer Robert Applebaum will also be featured with his humorous Yiddish folk song “Chiribim Chiribom,” relating to the March holiday of Purim.

The Chamber Choir will present four pieces from the repertoire for their upcoming spring tour to New Zealand, where the choir will hold nine performances in May. This concert will showcase “Le Pont Mirabeau” by French-Canadian composer Lionel Daunais. Another notable piece is “Father William,” an adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s poem from “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” composed by Irving Fine. Allegheny faculty Dr. Douglas Jurs will accompany the Chamber Choir at the piano for the concert as well as on their upcoming tour.

The Women’s Ensemble will round out the first half of the program with “The Seal Lullaby” by Eric Whitacre, and Baldassare Galuppi’s “Dixit Dominus,” which they originally performed in concert with the Alexander String Quartet during the quartet’s annual residency at Allegheny.

The Men’s Ensemble will open the second half with Jean Sibelius’ “Finlandia Hymn,” performing from a new edition by student Samuel Walgenbach ’19, who is part of the Men’s Ensemble and College Choir. This will be followed by Benjamin Britten’s “The Ballad of Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard,” an energetic adaptation of the folk tale “Matty Groves.” Britten’s work was written for prisoners of war and features frequent meter, tempo, and dynamic changes.

The College Choir will then perform a piece written by Allegheny’s first College choir director, Morten J. Luvaas, in 1945. “The Cry of God” was frequently performed by the Allegheny Singers on spring tours. The Choir will finish with “Pseudo-Yoik,” composed by Jaako Mantyjarvi. It is a fast-paced impression of a Lappish Yoik (a repetitive traditional folk song of the Sami people) with meaningless text, sung in a spirited and brilliant tone.

The choirs will combine to conclude the concert with the Horatian ode “Felices ter,” by Randall Thompson, and the College’s “Alma Mater, Beatissima.”

Collaborating with the choirs are student soloists and pianists Kevin Dill, director of music at First Presbyterian Church, and Allegheny Professor Emeritus of Music Ward Jamison.

Audience members are encouraged to sit in the balcony as well as in seats on the main floor of the auditorium.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

The Allegheny Choirs, under the direction of James D. Niblock, will perform a free concert at 3:15 p.m. Saturday, April 8, in Shafer Auditorium. The Allegheny College Chorus, Chamber Choir, Women’s Ensemble, Men’s Ensemble, and College Choir will each perform several works, and the groups will collaborate to close the performance as a choir of 111 voices. The concert is free and open to the public.

The College Chorus will open the concert with “Fair Phyllis I Saw,” a playful English madrigal by John Farmer about a young shepherdess and her lover. Jewish composer Robert Applebaum will also be featured with his humorous Yiddish folk song “Chiribim Chiribom,” relating to the March holiday of Purim.

The Chamber Choir will present four pieces from the repertoire for their upcoming spring tour to New Zealand, where the choir will hold nine performances in May. This concert will showcase “Le Pont Mirabeau” by French-Canadian composer Lionel Daunais. Another notable piece is “Father William,” an adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s poem from “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” composed by Irving Fine. Allegheny faculty Dr. Douglas Jurs will accompany the Chamber Choir at the piano for the concert as well as on their upcoming tour.

The Women’s Ensemble will round out the first half of the program with “The Seal Lullaby” by Eric Whitacre, and Baldassare Galuppi’s “Dixit Dominus,” which they originally performed in concert with the Alexander String Quartet during the quartet’s annual residency at Allegheny.

The Men’s Ensemble will open the second half with Jean Sibelius’ “Finlandia Hymn,” performing from a new edition by student Samuel Walgenbach ’19, who is part of the Men’s Ensemble and College Choir. This will be followed by Benjamin Britten’s “The Ballad of Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard,” an energetic adaptation of the folk tale “Matty Groves.” Britten’s work was written for prisoners of war and features frequent meter, tempo, and dynamic changes.

The College Choir will then perform a piece written by Allegheny’s first College choir director, Morten J. Luvaas, in 1945. “The Cry of God” was frequently performed by the Allegheny Singers on spring tours. The Choir will finish with “Pseudo-Yoik,” composed by Jaako Mantyjarvi. It is a fast-paced impression of a Lappish Yoik (a repetitive traditional folk song of the Sami people) with meaningless text, sung in a spirited and brilliant tone.

The choirs will combine to conclude the concert with the Horatian ode “Felices ter,” by Randall Thompson, and the College’s “Alma Mater, Beatissima.”

Collaborating with the choirs are student soloists and pianists Kevin Dill, director of music at First Presbyterian Church, and Allegheny Professor Emeritus of Music Ward Jamison.

Audience members are encouraged to sit in the balcony as well as in seats on the main floor of the auditorium.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Six Allegheny College student musicians represented their school at the 70th Annual Pennsylvania Intercollegiate Band Festival, held at Westminster College February 10-12. Thirty-one colleges and universities participated in the all-state event. Members of the symphonic band program at Allegheny, the six students selected by resume to participate were: Melissa Rusczcyk, clarinet; Brea Whiting, alto clarinet; Abbie Johnson, French horn; Raven Sanchez, string bass; Kevin Simpson, trumpet, and Jon Schaeffer, baritone saxophone. The guest conductor for the festival was Col. Thomas Palmatier, recently retired Conductor of the U.S. Army Band, “Pershings Own.”

The students were accompanied by Dr. Lowell Hepler, Professor of Music and Director of Bands, along with Dr. Ronald Stitt, Assistant Director of Bands.

Jon Schaeffer has also been selected to participate as a baritone saxophonist in the National Small College Intercollegiate Band as part of the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA) conference at the University of Missouri, Kansas City, from March 15-18. Students are chosen internationally for the band, again via resume. The national intercollegiate band will be conducted by Gary D. Green, Emeritus Professor of Music and Director of Bands at the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami. Faculty members Hepler and Ronald Stitt will also participate as part of the auditioning committee for the event.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Meadville, Pa. — The Allegheny College Music Department will host a High School Jazz Band Festival on Thursday, March 16, 2017 at 6 p.m. in Allegheny’s Shafer Auditorium. The concert is free and open to the public.

Featured ensembles are the Conneaut Area Blue Note Jazz Band directed by Glenn Cameron, the Meadville Area Senior High School Jazz Band, directed by Armond Walter, General McLane High School’s GM Jazz, directed by Jacob Malec, and the Allegheny College Jazz Band, directed by Stephen F. Corsi.

For more information, please call Stephen F. Corsi at 814-332-6244.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Meadville, Pa. — The Allegheny College Music Department will host a High School Jazz Band Festival on Thursday, March 16, 2017 at 6 p.m. in Allegheny’s Shafer Auditorium. The concert is free and open to the public.

Featured ensembles are the Conneaut Area Blue Note Jazz Band directed by Glenn Cameron, the Meadville Area Senior High School Jazz Band, directed by Armond Walter, General McLane High School’s GM Jazz, directed by Jacob Malec, and the Allegheny College Jazz Band, directed by Stephen F. Corsi.

For more information, please call Stephen F. Corsi at 814-332-6244.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research