Northwestern University Music in February

EVANSTON, Ill. --- A special Feb. 7 add-on performance by the Zukerman Trio -- comprised of violinist Pinchas Zukerman, cellist Amanda Forsyth and pianist Angela Cheng -- will bring the 20th season of the Winter Chamber Music Festival to a close on Northwestern University’s Evanston campus.

Presented by the University’s Henry and Leigh Bienen School of Music, the Zukerman Trio program is one of many February events, including appearances by leading guest artists, Bienen School faculty members and student vocal and instrumental ensembles.

Donald Nally, Bienen School professor and director of choral organizations, will conduct the Bienen Contemporary/Early Vocal Ensemble in a performance of Ted Hearne’s “Privilege” and Santa Ratniece’s “Horo horo hata hata,” prior to the group’s appearance at the American Choral Directors Association conference in Chicago. The Feb. 20 program will take place at the Mary B. Galvin Recital Hall, a new Evanston campus venue that offers state-of-the-art acoustics as well as a spectacular lakefront view of Chicago.

Other February highlights include the annual Alice Millar Birthday Concert (Feb. 7) at Alice Millar Chapel; a Segovia Classical Guitar Series recital (Feb. 14) by the Waller and Maxwell Duo; four performances (Feb. 25-Feb. 28) of the Bienen School’s Winter Opera, “Mozart’s “Le nozze di Figaro” at Cahn Auditorium; and a (Feb. 23) flute master class led by Alexa Still, former principal flute of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.

VENUES 

All February programs listed below are open to the public. They will take place on Northwestern University’s Evanston campus at the Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Center for the Musical Arts’ Mary B. Galvin Recital Hall, and David and Carol McClintock Choral and Recital Room, 70 Arts Circle Drive; Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, 50 Arts Circle Drive; and Alice Millar Chapel, 1870 Sheridan Road, as noted. More information available online.

TICKETS

The Bienen School Ticket Office is located at the southeast entrance of Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. Concert ticket prices are offered at three levels: the first for the general public and the second for full-time students with IDs. Northwestern faculty and staff with a valid Wildcard receive a 15 percent discount off the general public ticket price.   

More information is available online.

SERIES BROCHURES/FURTHER INFORMATION

For series brochures or further information, call 847-491-5441 or email requests to events.music@northwestern.edu. To join the Bienen School’s concerts and events list and receive a monthly events newsletter as well as special discount offers, send your email address to events.music@northwestern.edu.

FEBRUARY 2016 MUSIC EVENTS

• Contemporary Music Ensemble, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 4, Ryan Center’s Mary B. Galvin Recital Hall. Faculty member Benjamin Bolter and Bienen student Vincent Povázsay will conduct a program featuring guest composer Matthew Peterson. The ensemble will perform Alex Mincek’s “Poco a Poco,” the world premiere of two works -- Luis Fernando Amaya’s “en mi caminar en el desierto” and Matthew Peterson’s “Tumult and Flood” -- and Julia Wolfe’s “Tell Me Everything.” Tickets are $8 for the general public and $5 for students with valid IDs.

• Symphonic Wind Ensemble, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 5, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. Mallory Thompson, professor and director of bands, will conduct a concert featuring the premiere of a new work by Joel Puckett commissioned for the Bienen School’s Symphonic Wind Ensemble in celebration of the opening of Northwestern’s Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Center for the Musical Arts. Hailed as a “visionary” by the Washington Post, Joel Puckett was named one of National Public Radio listeners’ favorite composers under age 40. He is the recipient of awards from the American Composers Forum, BMI, Chorus America and the American Bandmasters Association. Recent commissions include works for flutist Marina Piccinini, the award-winning reed quintet Akropolis and the Philadelphia chamber choir The Crossing. The program will feature William Bolcom’s “Circus Overture,” Carter Pann’s “Serenade for Winds,” Michael Daugherty’s “Bells for Stokowski,” and the world premiere of Puckett’s “Ship of Theseus.” Tickets are $8 for the general public and $5 for students with valid IDs.

• Northwestern University Chamber Orchestra: Latin Nights, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 6, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. Bienen School faculty member Robert G. Hasty, associate director of orchestras, and graduate assistant Christopher Wild will conduct an evening of Latin music featuring mezzo-soprano Jeanne Ireland. The program features Alberto Ginastera’s “Estancia” and “Variaciones Concertantes” and Manuel de Falla’s Ballet Suite from “El amor brujo.” Tickets are $6 for the general public and $4 for students with valid IDs.

• Alice Millar Birthday Concert, 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 7, Alice Millar Chapel. This year’s celebration of Alice Millar Chapel’s birthday offers three bold and imaginative works. The entire chapel space will resound in Poulenc’s dramatic “Concerto for Organ, Timpani and Strings,” performed by Alice Millar Chapel organist Eric Budzynski. William Grant Still’s “Ennanga”-- the title refers to a type of African harp -- is a bravura work for harp, piano and strings. Concluding the concert is Handel’s brilliant and virtuosic “Dixit Dominus” for chorus, soloists, strings and continuo. Stephen Alltop, Bienen School faculty member and director of music for Alice Millar Chapel, will conduct the Alice Millar Chapel Choir and Northwestern University Orchestra. Admission is free, but an offering will be accepted. 

• Winter Chamber Music Festival 2016 finale: Zukerman Trio, 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 7, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. Zukerman Trio members -- comprised of violinist Pinchas Zukerman, cellist Amanda Forsyth and pianist Angela Cheng -- will bring the Bienen School of Music’s 2016 Winter Chamber Music Festival to a close. A prodigious talent recognized worldwide for his artistry, Zukerman has been an inspiration to young musicians throughout his adult life. In a continuing effort to motivate future generations of musicians through education and outreach, the renowned artist teamed up in 2002 with four protégés to form the Zukerman Chamber Players. The Zukerman Trio appeared during the summer of 2014 at Ravinia and Napa Valley Festival del Sole, and in cellist Amanda Forsyth’s native South Africa. During the 2014-15 season, they toured Italy, Spain, Japan, China, Korea and Australia, in addition to performing in the United States and Canada. The program includes Dvořák’s Piano Trio No. 4 in E Minor ("Dumky") and Beethoven’s Piano Trio in B-flat Major (“Archduke”). Tickets are $35 for the general public and $10 for students with valid IDs. This season’s Winter Chamber Music Festival subscribers save 20 percent on tickets to the Zukerman Trio. The concert is made possible in part by the Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation.

• Percussion Ensemble, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 10, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. Bienen faculty member She-e Wu, associate professor of percussion, will direct the ensemble in an evening of eclectic rhythms. Tickets are $6 for the general public and $4 for students with valid IDs.

• Symphonic Band, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 12, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. Bienen School faculty member Shawn Vondran will conduct the Symphonic Band in a concert of music for winds, brass and percussion. Tickets are $6 for the general public and $4 for students with valid IDs.

• Segovia Classical Guitar Series: The Waller and Maxwell Duo, 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 14, Ryan Center’s Mary B. Galvin Recital Hall. As energetic proponents of duo guitar playing, Anne Waller and Mark Maxwell have toured the United States and Europe for more than 30 years. Their unique programming of works for both 19th-century and modern guitars provides rare insight into the evolution of this enthralling art. In a recital celebrating their three decades of musical collaboration, they will perform favorite duo arrangements and works for four or more guitars. The duo will be joined on stage by Bienen School guitar program alumni Brandon Acker, James Baur, Elina Chekan, Jesse Langen, Brian Torosian and Steven Vasquez. The program includes music by Diabelli, Schumann, Falla, Britten, Torroba and Brouwer. Tickets are $30 for the general public and $10 for students with valid IDs.

• Evening of Brass, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 18, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. The brass program will include the world premiere of Timothy Higgins’ “Sinfonietta.” It will be directed by Gail Williams, professor of horn, and feature trumpet soloist Robert Sullivan, professor of trumpet. Tickets are $6 for the general public and $4 for students with valid IDs.

• Keyboard Conversations: The Golden Age of the Piano, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 19, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. Pianist Jeffrey Siegel’s “concert with commentary” will feature music of yesteryear. Favorite compositions of the drawing room and the concert hall will include the works of Mendelssohn, Rachmaninoff, Joplin and Gershwin. Single tickets are $22 for the general public and $16 for students with valid IDs.

• Kids Fare: Ringing Singing, 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 20, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. The hourlong program for children ages 3 to 8 and their families will celebrate the joy, beauty and excitement of the human voice with featured stars from the Bienen School of Music’s voice and opera program. Tickets are $6 for the general public and $4 for children. 

• Bienen Contemporary/Early Vocal Ensemble: Hearne and Ratniece on the National Stage, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 20, Ryan Center’s Mary B. Galvin Recital Hall. Bienen School faculty member Donald Nally, professor of conducting and ensembles, will direct the ensemble in a performance just prior to its appearance at the American Choral Directors Association’s conference in Chicago. The ensemble will perform Ted Hearne’s “Privilege,” a meditation on class economic division and suppression, and Santa Ratniece’s “Horo horo hata hata,” a mystical work illuminating our distance from the natural world. Tickets are $8 for the general public and $5 for students with valid IDs.

• Baroque Music Ensemble: Baroque Surround Sound, 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 21, Ryan Center’s Mary B. Galvin Recital Hall. The Baroque Music Ensemble will highlight the incredible sonic capacities of the state-of-the-art Mary B. Galvin Recital Hall. Be transported as multiple instrumental choirs surround the audience in music of Gabrieli. The program includes Albinoni's Adagio for Organ and Strings and Telemann's Concerto for Three Trumpets, Timpani and Orchestra. Stephen Alltop, Bienen School faculty member and director of music for Alice Millar Chapel, will conduct. David Douglass will be the featured violin soloist. Tickets are $6 for the general public and $4 for students with valid IDs.

• Alexa Still, Flute Master Class, 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 23, Regenstein Recital Hall’s Master Class Room. Former principal flute of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Alexa Still has appeared with the Albany Symphony, the Brooklyn Philharmonic and the Colorado Music Festival. Her regular summer engagements include Aria Academy, Round Top Festival, and Interlochen Summer Arts Camp, where she is a Valade Fellow. A past president of the National Flute Association, Still writes for flute journals worldwide. Still will coach Bienen School flute students. Admission is free.

• Winter Opera, Mozart’s “Le nozze di Figaro,” 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 25; 7:30 p.m.  Friday Feb. 26; 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 27; and 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 28, Cahn Auditorium. The servants Susanna and Figaro are planning their wedding, but their master, Count Almaviva, has his eye on the pretty young maid and attempts to delay their marriage. Complicating matters are a jealous countess, an amorous teenager, a scheming older woman and her beleaguered lawyer. “Figaro” is classic comic tale of love, intrigue, morals and mischief. It will be performed in Italian with English supertitles. Tickets are $18 for the general public and $8 for students with valid IDs.

• Symphonic Wind Ensemble, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 26, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. Bienen School faculty member Mallory Thompson, professor and director of bands, will conduct the ensemble in a program featuring the world premiere of Benjamin Hjertmann’s yet-to-be-titled new work and James Aikman’s Concerto for Saxophone, featuring faculty soloist Taimur Sullivan, associate professor of saxophone. Also on the program are Rodrigo’s “Adagio para orquesta de instrumentos de viento” and Michael Gandolfi’s “Meditations and Flourishes on a Renaissance Theme.” Tickets are $8 for the general public and $5 for students with valid IDs.

• Guitar Ensemble, 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 28, Ryan Center’s Mary B. Galvin Recital Hall. The ensemble will perform works by Boccherini, Granados, Roux, Hindemith and Rak. Bienen School faculty member Anne Waller will direct the program. Tickets are $6 for the general public and $4 for students with valid IDs.

• University Chorale: Seeing Flowers, 7:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 29, Ryan Center’s Mary B. Galvin Recital Hall. In the words of Henri Matisse, “There are always flowers for those who want to see them.” University Chorale will present a program infatuated with nature, including works by Melchior Franck, Brahms’ “Drei Quartette” (Op. 31), Mendelssohn’s “Sechs Lieder im Freien zu Singen” (Op. 59) and J. Aaron McDermid’s “From Light to Light.” Bienen School faculty member Albert Pinsonneault and graduate assistant Hannah McConnell will conduct. Pianist Charles Foster will be the featured soloist. Tickets are $6 for the general public and $4 for students with valid IDs.

• Jazz Small Ensembles: Composition 802 – Student Originals, 7:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 29, Ryan Center’s Shirley Welsh Ryan Opera Theater. Bienen School jazz faculty members Marlene Rosenberg and Jarrard Harris will conduct the ensembles as they celebrate jazz through students’ original compositions and arrangements. The jazz studies students have examined the elements of jazz through its greatest composers and performers. Tickets are $6 for the general public and $4 for students with valid IDs.