Northwestern Music in March

EVANSTON, Ill. --- A recital of Charles Ives songs featuring soprano Amber Wagner and Northwestern voice and opera students and the first four programs in the March 28 to April 7 “Soundings” Spring Festival are among Northwestern University’s late winter music programming.

Presented by the Henry and Leigh Bienen School of Music, the “Soundings” Festival will feature top artists, including sitarist and composer Anoushka Shankar, pianist Gabriela Montero, members of Northwestern’s clarinet faculty and students, guitarist Sharon Isbin and percussionist Thiago de Mello. 

March also includes a piano master class by Richard Goode, inaugural winner of the Bienen School’s $50,000 Jean Gimbel Lane Prize in Piano Performance, and a free performance by the United States Navy Concert Band. 

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; or Lutkin Hall, 700 University Place; and 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.

MARCH 2012 

Baroque Music Ensemble, “Baroque Concertos,” 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 1, Lutkin Hall. Stephen Alltop will conduct a program featuring Vivaldi’s Concerto for Two Horns in F Major, Concerto for Violin in G Major and Concerto for Cello in A Minor. J.S. Bach’s Concerto in F Minor for Harpsichord and Strings and C.P.E. Bach’s Concerto for Flute in G Major will also be performed. Tickets are $6 for the general public and $4 for students with IDs. 

University Singers, 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 2, Alice Millar Chapel. Robert A. Boyd conducts a program of music by Byrd, Holst, Robert Boyd, Marshall Bartholomew, Shaw and Alice Parker. Jerad Mosbey will be the piano accompanist and Benjamin D. Rivera will conduct women vocalists. Tickets are $6 for the general public and $4 for students with IDs. 

New music, Midwest Graduate Music Consortium Concert, 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 2, Lutkin Hall. Bienen School students will perform new works by graduate students from across the country. The concert is part of the 2012 Midwest Graduate Music Consortium (MGMC), organized by graduate students from Northwestern University, University of Chicago and University of Wisconsin–Madison. The MGMC brings together graduate students and advanced undergraduates in various musical fields to share ideas. Admission is free. 

Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra, Student Showcase, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 3, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. Victor Yampolsky and student Yahui Cheng will conduct a program that includes Ibert’s Flute Concerto, Szymanowski’s Violin Concerto No. 1 and Dvorak’s Cello Concerto in B Minor. Flutist Kristin Carr, violinist Julie Chang and cellist Julia Yang will be the featured soloists. Tickets are $8 for the general public and $5 for students with IDs. 

Segovia Classical Guitar Series, Johannes Moller, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 3, Lutkin Hall. A veteran of more than 500 performances with nearly 40 compositions to his credit, Moller is the 2010 prizewinner of the Guitar Foundation of America’s annual competition and has captivated audiences throughout the world. Moller’s performance will include works by Albeniz, Barrios and Gougeon, as well select as some of his own compositions. Tickets are $20 for the general public and $10 for students with IDs. 

Segovia Classical Guitar Series, Johannes Moller Guitar Master Class, 1 p.m. Sunday, March 4, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, Rehearsal Room. The 2010 Guitar Foundation of America prizewinner Johannes Moller will present a master class featuring Bienen School guitarists. The entrance to Pick-Staiger’s rehearsal room is accessed though the Ticket Office entrance on the south side of the building. Admission is free. 

Philharmonia, “Nationalist Treasures,” 7:30 p.m. Sunday, March 4, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. Robert G. Hasty and graduate student Rachel Grubb will conduct the Philharmonia in a program that includes Sibelius’ “Finlandia,” Smetana’s “Vltava” (“The Moldau”) from “Ma Vlast” (“My Fatherland”), Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 2 in C Minor (“Little Russian”) and “Andante Cantabile” from his String Quartet No. 1 in D Major, Op. 11. Tickets are $6 for the general public and $4 for students with IDs. 

Richard Goode Piano Master Class, 10 a.m. Monday, March 5, Lutkin Hall. Richard Goode, the inaugural winner of Northwestern University’s Jean Gimbel Lane Prize in Piano Performance, will lead a master class featuring Bienen School piano students. Tickets are $6 for the general public and $4 for students with IDs. 

Northwestern University Chamber Orchestra and University Chorus, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 6, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. Robert G. Hasty and Robert A. Harris will conduct a program that includes Menotti’s “Steal Me, Sweet Thief” from “The Old Maid and the Thief,” Strauss’ “Grossmachtige Prinzessin” from “Ariadne auf Naxos,” and Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 2 in B-flat Major, “Lobgesang” (“Hymn of Praise”). Sopranos Julie Tabash, Gillian Kraus-Neale and Sunny Joy Langton and tenor Kurt Hansen will be the soloists. Tickets are $8 for the general pubic and $5 for students with IDs. 

Percussionist Patti Cudd with live electronics by Jeff Herriott, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 6, Lutkin Hall. Patti Cudd is active as a percussion soloist, chamber musician and educator. She teaches and conducts the percussion and new music ensembles at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls and has worked with composers Morton Feldman, Pauline Oliveros, John Luther Adams and Michael Colgrass. Jeff Herriott is an associate professor of music at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he teaches courses in audio, multimedia, music technology and composition. He is currently composing and recording projects with bell monks and Due East, two music ensembles. Highlighting the integration of electroacoustic music with percussion, the program will include works by Cort Lippe, Cudd and Herriott's “ancient caves” for bass drum and electronics. Tickets are $6 for the general public and $4 for students with IDs. 

New music, Contemporary Music Ensemble, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 7, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. Timothy J. Robblee and Bienen School of Music conducting students will direct a program of new works by graduate and undergraduate students in the Bienen School’s composition program. Tickets are $6 for the general public and $4 for students with IDs.   

“Putting Ives in Context,” 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 7, Lutkin Hall. Vocal coach and piano accompanist Alan Darling will direct an exploration of songs by 20th-century American composer Charles Ives, contrasted and juxtaposed with works by Schubert, Brahms, Liszt, Debussy, Britten and others. The recital will feature performances by guest soprano Amber Wagner, star of Lyric Opera of Chicago’s “Ariadne auf Naxos,” and Bienen School voice and opera students. Tickets are $10 for the general public and $6 for students with IDs. 

Small Jazz Ensembles, “Penmanship 402 -- Student Originals,” 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 7, Regenstein Recital Hall. Faculty member Victor Goines will conduct an evening of original compositions by students in the Bienen School’s jazz studies program. Tickets are $6 for the general public and $4 for students with IDs. 

Spanish Brass Master Class, 6 p.m. Thursday, March 8, Regenstein Recital Hall. The Spanish Brass features trumpet players Carlos Beneto Grau and Juanjo Serna Salvador; horn player Manuel Perez Ortega; trombonist Indalecio Bonet Manrique; and tubist Sergio Finca Quiros. The quintet has released 15 recordings and organizes two annual international brass festivals -- the Spanish Brassurround Torrent and the Spanish Brass Alzira Festival. In this master class, the members of the quintet will coach brass students from the Bienen School of Music. Admission is free. 

Symphonic Band, “Old and New,” 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 9, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. Timothy J. Robblee will conduct a program featuring Hanson’s “Merry Mount Suite,” Wagner’s “Porazzi Variations” and David Maslanka’s “Traveler.” Tickets are $6 for the general public and $4 for students with IDs.

Kids Fare, “Musical Merit-ocracy,” 10:30 a.m. Saturday, March 10, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. One of the finest youth orchestras in the United States, Chicago’s Merit School of Music Symphony Orchestra will bring the legend of “Peter and the Wolf” to life during this family program for children aged 3 to 8. Tickets are $6 for the general public and $4 for children and students with IDs. 

United States Navy Concert Band, 7:30 p.m. Monday, March 12, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. As the original ensemble of the United States Navy Band, the Concert Band is the premier wind ensemble of the U.S. Navy. The group has been performing marches, patriotic selections, orchestral transcriptions and modern wind ensemble repertoire at public concerts and high-profile events for more than 85 years. The band has participated in 21 presidential inaugurations and appears at national dedications and memorial services and at festivals throughout the world. Admission is free. Call the Pick-Staiger Ticket Office at (847) 467-4000 for reservations. There is a four-ticket limit per customer. All ticket holders must be seated by 7:15 p.m. Any remaining tickets will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis prior to the concert. 

Keyboard Conversations, “Russian Rapture -- Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky,” 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 16, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. Pianist Jeffrey Siegel will present works by Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky, including preludes, etudes and the Humoresque. Tickets are $22 for the general public and $16 for students with IDs. 

Soundings Spring Festival, Anoushka Shankar and Guests: “Traveler,” 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 28, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. In her latest project, “Traveler,” Anoushka Shankar melds the rhythmically intense music of Spain with the vibrant, ancient forms of Indian classical tradition. Immersing herself in flamenco, fandango and tango, Shankar has crafted hybrid works that employ the traditional Indian instrumentation of sitar, tabla and bansuri flute with flamenco guitar, voice and percussion. Tickets are $26 for the general public and $10 for students with IDs. 

Soundings Spring Festival, Gabriela Montero, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 29, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. Pianist Gabriela Montero's visionary interpretations of classic repertoire are highlighted in works by Chopin and Liszt. The second half of her program will be dedicated to her improvisations on themes suggested by the audience. Tickets are $18 for the general public and $10 for students with IDs. 

Segovia Classical Guitar Series and Soundings Spring Music Festival, Sharon Isbin Guitar Master Class, 4 p.m. Friday, March 30, Regenstein Recital Hall. Acclaimed guitarist Sharon Isbin will present a master class featuring Bienen School guitar students. Admission is free. 

Soundings Spring Festival, “Clarinetissimo!”, 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 30, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. Bienen School clarinet faculty members J. Lawrie Bloom, Steve Cohen and Leslie Grimm will lead a stellar line-up of student and alumni performers. The program includes “L’Histoire du Tango” by Piazzolla, “Devil Sticks” by Scott McAllister, “Shtetl Dances” by Michael Kibbe, a piece for nine bass clarinets, and arrangements for an orchestra of clarinets. Tickets are $14 for the general public and $10 for students with IDs.

Segovia Classical Guitar Series and Soundings Spring Festival, Sharon Isbin with Thiago de Mello, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 31, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. Two-time Grammy Award winner and acclaimed classical guitarist Sharon Isbin and world-renowned Brazilian percussionist Thiago de Mello will present a sampling of Isbin’s album “Journey to the Amazon” along with a few of Isbin’s favorite works. Tickets are $26 for the general public and $10 for students with IDs.