Northwestern Music in February

EVANSTON, Ill. --- The first of five 2012 Segovia Classical Guitar Series concerts will bring award-winning Russian-born guitarist Irina Kulikova to Northwestern University’s Evanston campus on Feb. 4.

Other February program highlights include guest appearances by Switzerland-based contemporary saxophonist Marcus Weiss, legendary jazz bassist Rufus Reid, British clarinetist Janet Hilton, and South African instrumentalist Hugh Masekela and his high-energy band.

Vocal events include the annual Alice Millar Birthday Concert on Feb. 5 and the Winter 2012 production of Strauss’ “Die Fledermaus” that will be held from Feb. 23 through Feb. 26.

All programs listed below are open to the public. They take place on Northwestern University’s Evanston campus at Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, 50 Arts Circle Drive; Regenstein Recital Hall, 60 Arts Circle Drive; Lutkin Hall, 700 University Place; Cahn Auditorium, 600 Emerson Street; or Alice Millar Chapel, 1870 Sheridan Road, as noted.

Ticket prices are indicated in two ranges: the first for the general public and the second for full-time students with IDs. Northwestern faculty and staff with a valid WildCARD ID receive a 15 percent discount off the general public ticket price.

For more information, call the Pick-Staiger Concert Office at (847) 491-5441 or visit the Pick-Staiger website at www.pickstaiger.org. To order tickets, call the Pick-Staiger Ticket Office at (847) 467-4000 or visit www.pickstaiger.org. 

FEBRUARY 2012 

Guest artist, Marcus Weiss, saxophone, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 1, Lutkin Hall. Marcus Weiss is professor and director of the saxophone program at Switzerland’s Basel Conservatory as well as co-chair of the school’s new master’s program in contemporary music performance. He has been a leading international saxophone performer of contemporary music and heard in concerts and residencies at major festivals throughout Europe, America and Asia. His program features Berio’s “Sequenza IXb” for Alto Saxophone, Telemann’s Fantasia No. 10 in F-sharp Minor and selections from Giorgio Netti’s “necessita d’interrogare il cielo.” Tickets are $8 for the general public and $5 for students with IDs. 

Small Jazz Ensembles, “Speak No Evil -- The Music of Wayne Shorter,” 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 1, Regenstein Recital Hall. Victor Goines conducts an evening of combo jazz celebrating the music of saxophonist, composer and multiple Grammy Award winner Wayne Shorter. Shorter’s carefully composed and complex charts have influenced numerous neo-bop artists -- notably Branford Marsalis -- and many of his tunes have become jazz standards. Tickets are $6 for the general public and $4 for students with IDs.

Contemporary Music Ensemble, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 2, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. Directed by Daniel J. Farris, this concert includes Jennifer Higdon’s “Zaka,” Joseph Schwantner’s “Music of Amber” and Mark-Anthony Turnage’s “This Silence.” Tickets are $6 for the general public and $4 for students with IDs.

Paul Merkelo, Trumpet Master Class, 4:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 3, Lutkin Hall. Recognized throughout North America and beyond as one of his generation’s finest trumpet players, Merkelo has frequently appeared with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and has performed with Ottawa’s National Arts Centre Orchestra and Japan’s Sapporo Philharmonic, among others. He has premiered three trumpet concertos written for him and released two solo albums. Merkelo is on the music faculty at McGill University in Montreal and the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara. In this master class, he will coach Bienen School trumpet students. Admission is free. 

Symphonic Wind Ensemble, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 3, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. Mallory Thompson directs a program that includes Walter Piston’s “Tunbridge Fair”; David Amram’s “King Lear Variations”; Daniel Dorff’s “Flash,” which features piccolo soloist Walfrid Kujala; Debussy’s “The Engulfed Cathedral”; and Stravinsky’s “Symphonies of Wind Instruments.” Tickets are $6 for the general public and $4 for students with IDs. 

Northwestern University Chamber Orchestra, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 4, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. Robert G. Hasty conducts the Northwestern Chamber Orchestra in a music program that features Enesco’s Romanian Rhapsody No. 1 in A Major; Walton’s “Facade,” Suite No. 2; Bottesini’s Concerto for Double Bass No. 2 in B Minor; and Mozart’s Serenade No. 9 in D Major (“Posthorn”). Samuel Suggs will be the double bass soloist. Tickets are $6 for the general public and $4 for students with IDs.

Guest artist, Segovia Classical Guitar Series, Irina Kulikova, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 4, Lutkin Hall. Racking up five first-prize awards at prestigious guitar competitions in 2008 alone, Irina Kulikova firmly cemented her place among classical guitar’s buzz-worthy talent. She has performed in some of Europe’s finest halls and festivals, including Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw and Salzburg’s annual Schlosskonzerte. She also has released two albums on Naxos Records. Her program includes Bach’s Cello Suite No. 1; Sor’s Fantasia, Op. 30;  Barrios’ Mangore, Valz No. 4, Op. 8; Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Sonata en re major “Omaggio a Boccherini,” Op. 77; and Gallardo del Rey’s California Suite. Tickets are $20 for the general public and $10 for students with IDs. 

Guest artist, Segovia Classical Guitar Series Master Class, Irina Kulikova, 11 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 5, Lutkin Hall. Kulikova will lead a master class featuring Bienen School guitar students. Admission is free. 

Alice Millar Birthday Concert, 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 5, Alice Millar Chapel. Stephen Alltop conducts the Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra and Alice Millar Chapel Choir. The program will feature Schubert’s “Salve Regina” in F Major for soprano and orchestra and Mass in A-flat Major for solo quartet and chorus, and Alexandre Guilmant’s Symphony No. 1 for organ and orchestra. The concert features organ soloist Eric Budzynski. Admission is a freewill offering. 

Guest artist, Northwestern University Jazz Orchestra, “An Evening with Rufus Reid,” 7:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 6, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. A Northwestern University alumnus and one of the international jazz scene’s premier bassists, Rufus Reid has been honored with the Charlie Parker Jazz Composition Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship and the International Society of Bassists’ Distinguished Achievement Award. The recipient of numerous commissions, he has composed music for ensembles of all sizes. Reid joins the Jazz Orchestra, conducted by Victor Goines, for a concert of his own compositions. Tickets are $6 for the general public and $4 for students with IDs.

Guest artist, Rufus Reid Jazz Master Class, 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 7, Lutkin Hall. Renowned bassist and Northwestern alumnus Rufus Reid leads a master class on jazz performance and techniques. The class will feature bassists and other students from the Bienen School of Music’s jazz studies program. Admission is free.

Symphonic Band, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 10, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. Timothy J. Robblee conducts an evening of recent compositions. The program will feature Joel Puckett’s “Avelynn’s Lullaby,” the world premiere of Austin Schlichting’s “Hullabaloo,” Bernard Rogers’ “Three Japanese Dances” and H. Owen Reed’s “La Fiesta Mexicana.” Tickets are $6 for the general public and $4 for students with IDs.

Percussion Ensemble, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 11, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. She-e Wu directs a program of eclectic rhythms. Tickets are $6 for the general public and $4 for students with IDs. 

Baroque Music Ensemble, “Great Motets and Psalms,” 7 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 12, Alice Millar Chapel. Stephen Alltop conducts a program featuring Bach’s “Komm, Jesu, Komm” and “Sei Lob und Preis mit Ehren,” Scarlatti’s “Laetatus sum” and Handel’s “Laudate pueri.” Tickets are $6 for the general public and $4 for students with IDs.

Guest artist, Ian Clarke Flute Master Class, 5 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 16, Lutkin Hall. Flutist Ian Clarke’s compositions have been performed from London’s South Bank to England’s Glastonbury Rock Festival and featured in several recent BBC Young Musician Woodwind finals. He has given master classes in Great Britain at the Royal Academy of Music, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Royal Scottish Academy, Royal Northern and Trinity College of Music. In this master class he will coach Bienen School of Music flute students. Admission is free.

Guest artist, Ian Clarke Flute Recital, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 16, Lutkin Hall. As a flute soloist Ian Clarke has performed throughout Europe and the United States. Following his recent appointment by the Flutewise flute society as Artist of the Year, members of Flutewise premiered his work “Zig Zag Zoo” at the Barbican Centre in London. Clarke also has appeared as a guest artist with the British rock group Jethro Tull. Clarke is an International Miyazawa Flute artist. Admission is free.

University Chorale, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 17, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. University Chorale, conducted by Robert A. Harris, performs Bach’s Motet No. 3, “Jesu, meine Freude,” as well as choral works by American composers Lukas Foss, Irving Fine, William Hawley, Steven Sametz and Eric Whitacre. Tickets are $6 for the general public and $4 for students with IDs.

Northwestern University Saxophone Ensemble, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 17, Regenstein Recital Hall. 

Faculty recital, “Three Times Two,” pianist Elizabeth Buccheri, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 17, Lutkin Hall. Assistant conductor at Lyric Opera of Chicago since 1987, Bienen School faculty pianist Elizabeth Buccheri is founder and music director of the Chamber Music at North Park concert series and the first American musician to receive the Sir Georg Solti Foundation Award. With guest violinist Mathias Tacke and Bienen School faculty colleagues Steven Cohen and Gail Williams, Buccheri presents a recital of duo sonatas, including rarely performed gems. The program features Poulenc’s Sonata for Clarinet and Piano, Bruce Broughton’s Sonata for Horn and Piano and Elgar’s Sonata for Violin and Piano. Tickets are $8 for the general public and $5 for students with IDs. 

Saxophone Ensemble, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 17, Regenstein Recital Hall. The ensemble will perform diverse transcriptions and original compositions for saxophone. Works will include Walter S. Hartley’s Overture, Interlude and Scherzo, Gary Bricault’s arrangement of Gounod’s  “Petite Suite,” Sara Sipes’ arrangement of Steve Reich’s “New York Counterpoint: and I. Peterson’s arrangement of Shostakovich’s “Festive Overture.” Tickets are $6 for the general public and $4 for students with IDs. 

Kids Fare, “Really Resonating Reeds,” 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 18, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. Experience the glorious and magical sounds of clarinets and saxophones during an hourlong performance for children aged 3 to 8 by Northwestern’s saxophone ensemble and student clarinetists. Tickets are $6 for the general public and $4 for children and students with IDs.

Guest artist, Hugh Masekela, “The Jabulani Tour,” 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 18, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. Legendary composer and instrumentalist (trumpet, flugelhorn and cornet) Hugh Masekela has long been a major player on international jazz, pop and world music scenes as well as a champion of human rights in his native South Africa. Perhaps best known for his 1968 hit “Grazing in the Grass,” he has collaborated with fellow superstars Bob Marley, Herb Alpert, Harry Belafonte, Paul Simon and Ladysmith Black Mambazo, the all-male South African a cappella singing group. On tour with his high-energy band of South African musicians to promote his forthcoming album “Jabulani,” Masekela presents a program featuring pop, jazz, ballads and traditional South African styles. Tickets are $18 for the general public and $10 for students with IDs.

Northwestern University Guitar Ensemble, 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 19, Lutkin Hall. Anne Waller conducts the Guitar Ensemble in a program of works for full ensemble as well as quartets, duos and solos by Bach, Carulli, Granados, Gimenez and Machado. Tickets are $6 for the general public and $4 for students with IDs.

Winter Opera, “Die Fledermaus,” 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 23; 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 24; 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25; and 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 26, Cahn Auditorium. Strauss’ beloved operetta is updated to the Art Deco 1930s in this new production. Mistaken identities, disguises and madcap romantic escapades create a delicious champagne cocktail of a show. The winter opera is directed by Michael Ehrman with music direction by Willie Anthony Waters, assistant music direction by Yuchi Chou and choreography by Marla Lampert. Tickets are $20 for the general public and $8 for students with IDs. 

Symphonic Wind Ensemble, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 24, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. Mallory Thompson conducts the Symphonic Wind Ensemble in a program featuring horn soloist Gail Williams. The program includes Joel Puckett’s “Blink,” Paul Lansky’s “Day Trips” and Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition.” Tickets are $6 for the general public and $4 for students with IDs. 

Concert Band, 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 26, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. Students from across Northwestern’s campus will present a program of band standards, conducted by Daniel J. Farris. Tickets are $6 for the general public and $4 for students with IDs. 

Guest artist, Janet Hilton Clarinet Recital and Master Class, 6 p.m. Monday, Feb. 27, Regenstein Recital Hall. British clarinetist Janet Hilton’s 6 p.m. recital is immediately followed by a master class with Bienen School clarinet students. Hilton has appeared with most major British orchestras, the Edinburgh, Cheltenham and BBC Promenade Concert festivals, and in Europe, the United States and Canada. Also a leading teacher, she served as head of the woodwind department at the Birmingham Conservatoire and the Royal College of Music. Tickets are $8 for the general public and $5 for students with IDs. 

Evening of Brass, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 28, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. Gail Williams conducts an evening of diverse transcriptions and arrangements, ranging from works by Bach to pieces written for brass band. Tickets are $6 for the general public and $4 for students with IDs.