New WCU ensemble to perform contemporary music Feb. 18
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WCU professor of music Jason Solomon directs the Contemporary Chamber Ensemble.
The Contemporary Chamber Ensemble will perform the music of Bartók, Frazier and Glass at 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 18, in the Coulter Building recital hall on the campus of Western Carolina University.
Admission is free and the public is invited.
“Extending Musical Traditions: Music by Bartók, Frazier and Glass” will feature the following pieces:
- “Contrasts,” a trio for violin, clarinet and piano by Béla Bartók. Composed in 1938 and dedicated to clarinetist Benny Goodman and violinist Joseph Szigeti, the piece references Hungarian and Bulgarian folk tunes and requires that the clarinetist and violinist both play two different instruments.
- “The String Quartet No. 5” by Phillip Glass. The minimalist piece, composed in 1991, features the Glass trademarks of perpetual motion and rhythmic complexity.
- “Incidental Suite: Music for a Romantic Comedy” by Bruce Frazier, WCU professor of music. This piece, composed for a 2009 theater production of “Almost, Maine,” features seven short movements that reflect the drama’s quirky tales of romance.
Performers are faculty members Shannon Thompson (clarinet), Andrew Adams (piano), Will Peebles (bassoon) and Terri Armfield (oboe). Asheville-based Opal String Quartet will make a special appearance; members are Amy Lovinger (violin), Qiao Chen Solomon (violin), Kara Poorbaugh (viola) and Franklin Keel (cello). Director Jason Solomon, WCU assistant professor of music, will briefly discuss each work prior to its performance.
This is the second concert of the Contemporary Chamber Ensemble, founded in fall 2009 with the mission to entertain, challenge and educate. The ensemble explores works of the 20th and 21st centuries and is a forum for performances of contemporary, avant-garde music. Its performers are faculty members, students and guests, and rotate according to the scheduled musical works.
For more information about the Contemporary Chamber Ensemble or the upcoming concert, contact Solomon at (828) 227-2471 or jsolomon@wcu.edu.
