And on with the show! Participating faculty Daniela Mineva, Cindy Moyer, Virginia Ryder, Eugene Novotney, Elisabeth Harrington, Robin Miller and Gilbert Cline.

HSU Music Faculty in Welcome Concert

With selections from Mozart to Sondheim, and Hindemith to Ellington, members of the HSU Music Department faculty will perform a musical welcome to the new school year on Saturday, September 10 in Fulkerson Recital Hall.

“We started this last year and it was a great success,” said faculty organizer and performer Elisabeth Harrington. “It’s an opportunity to present a concert of diverse music that showcases the wide variety of musical interests and talents of our faculty.”

The early evening event features a host of unique small ensembles, from a piano and trumpet duo to a string quintet and singers from a recent theatrical production. Several members of the local musical community will also perform with the HSU faculty players.

Among the scheduled performances: A string quartet of Cindy Moyer, Karen Davy, Sherry Hanson and Carol Jacobson will play a Mozart Quartet.  Brian Post and Shao Way Wu perform a medley of tunes by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn.

Elisabeth Harrington will reprise two songs from the recent Ferndale Repertory Theatre production of Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd, with co-star Craig Benson and other cast members. Daniela Mineva and Gilbert Cline perform Paul Hindemith’s Sonata, which Cline describes as “one of the tour de force moments of the modern era for trumpet and piano.”

Other faculty players include Eugene Novotney, Howard Kaufman, Virginia Ryder and Robin Miller.

The musical smorgasbord will be followed by a real one, with a reception where audience members can meet the players.

The Welcome Concert begins at the early time of 5 pm on Saturday September 10 in Fulkerson Recital Hall on the HSU campus in Arcata. Reception is immediately afterwards. Tickets are $8/$3 students and seniors from HSU Ticket Office (826-3928) or at the door. An HSU Department of Music production.

Media: Muse, Tri-City Weekly, HSU Now, Arcata Eye, North Coast Journal

Welcome Concert: The Program

1.Little Sunflower  by Freddie Hubbard
Afro-Blue  by Mongo Santamaria

Players:
Eugene Novotney, tenor pan
Howard Kaufman, double tenor pans
Virginia Ryder, double seconds pans
Jonathan Kipp, cello pans
Shao Way Wu, bass
David Peñalosa, congas

2. Ellington / Strayhorn Medley
 Upper Manhattan Medical Group
 Daydream
 Blood Count
 A-Train

Players:
Brian Post, piano
Shao Way Wu, bass

3. Toccata by  Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson

Robin Miller, piano

4. Quartet in G Major, K. 387 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
I. Allegro vivace assai

Cindy Moyer, violin
Karen Davy, violin
Sherry Hanson, viola
Carol Jacobson, cello

5. Selections from Sweeney Todd  by Stephen Sondheim
“The Worst Pies in London”
“Have a Little Priest”

Elisabeth Harrington (as Mrs. Lovett), soprano
Craig Benson (as Sweeney Todd), baritone
Robin Miller, piano
Tamaras Abrams, percussion
Introduction by Ginger Gene, Artistic Director of Ferndale Repertory Theatre

6.Quintet in F Minor by César Franck
II. Lento, con molto sentimento

Cindy Moyer, violin
Karen Davy, violin
Sherry Hanson, viola
Carol Jacobson, cello
Daniela Mineva, piano

7. Sonata: 1st movement  by Paul Hindemith
“Mit Kraft” (strength / force / power / vigor)

Gilbert Cline, trumpet
Daniela Mineva, piano

All are invited to a reception in the Music Lobby to meet the artists immediately following the concert.

The Faculty Artists Series features both Humboldt State faculty and prominent guest artists from across the United States. The series continues to raise funds for the Barlow Scholarship,used to attract outstanding young musicians to Humboldt State University.

[click photo to enlarge]
HSU Music Faculty Play Welcome Concert

Performing solo or more often in duos, trios, a quartet and a quintet, no fewer than eighteen HSU Music Department faculty and staff players take the stage to start the school year with a musical bang, in a Welcoming Concert and reception beginning at 5 pm on Saturday, September 11 in Fulkerson Recital Hall.

Faculty artists perform throughout the year, but according to professor and performer Elisabeth Harrington, this is an unusual opportunity to experience “the diverse talents of our music faculty in one concert. It’s a way of saying, ‘welcome back to the school year—we are your HSU Music Department and we have a lot of fabulous music to share with you!’”

That diversity is expressed not only in the range of instruments and combinations but in musical styles, from 19th century classics to contemporary composers.

Harrington will sing two selections from contemporary composer Ricky Ian Gordon, accompanied by pianist John Chernoff. Pianist Daniela Mineva plays two pieces by Chopin. Percussionist Eugene Novotney performs one of his own compositions.

The dynamic duos of Paul Cummings on clarinet and John Chernoff on piano perform pieces by 19th century German composer Paul Hindemith, followed by guitarist Nicholas Lambson and flutist Laura Snodgrass playing several Romanian Dances by Bela Bartok.

Short pieces by German Romantic composer Max Bruch will be performed by the trio of Kenneth Ayoob on clarinet, Karen Davy on viola and Robin Miller on piano. A string quartet (Cindy Moyer and Karen Davy on violin, Sherry Hanson on viola, David Davis on cello) play two sections of a piece by contemporary composer Robert Sirota that commemorates the tragic events of 9/11/2001 in New York City.

The Humboldt Bay Brass Quintet (which in this case includes bassist Shao Way Wu and pianist Daniela Mineva as well as Matthew Morgan on horn, and Gilbert Cline and Frederic Belanger on trumpets) performs a piece by contemporary composer Michael Cunningham.

The concert will be followed by a reception, open to all concertgoers.

“We love what we do, teaching and creating music,” Elisabeth Harrington said. “And we want to share it. So come and enjoy a great concert, and meet the artists afterwards.”

The Welcome Concert begins at 5 pm on Saturday September 11 in Fulkerson Recital Hall, with the reception immediately afterwards. Tickets are $8/$3 students and seniors from HSU Ticket Office (826-3928) or at the door. An HSU Department of Music production.

Media: HSU Now, Arcata Eye.

2009 HSU Jazz Orchestra. Click photo to enlarge.

HSU Jazz Orchestra

HSU Jazz Orchestra plays a Mingus suite and Latin sounds on Saturday December 12 at 8 p.m. in the Fulkerson Recital Hall on the HSU campus in Arcata. Tickets are $7 general, $3 students/seniors, from the HSU Ticket Office (826-3928) or at the door. Free to HSU students with ID. Directed by Shao Way Wu, produced by HSU Department of Music.

Mingle with Mingus, Then Go Latin with the Jazz Orchestra

It’s a concert in two parts.

The HSU Jazz Orchestra begins with a suite of compositions by jazz bassist, pianist, band leader and composer, the legendary Charles Mingus. His long career stretched from the 1940s into the 1970s. “These are social-political pieces from the 1950s,” said Jazz Orchestra director Shao Way Wu. “They showcase his unique approach and his highly personalized sound.”

The second part of the program features Latin sounds, including Fusion classic “La Fiesta” by jazz pianist Chick Corea, the fiery Afro-Cuban “Sandunga” by trumpeter Arturo Sandoval and two tunes by jazz pianist Horace Silver.

The HSU Jazz Orchestra presents its winter concert on Saturday December 12 at 8 p.m. in the Fulkerson Recital Hall on the HSU campus in Arcata. Tickets are $7 general, $3 students/seniors, from the HSU Ticket Office (826-3928) or at the door. Free to HSU students with ID.

Media: Humboldt State Now, Arcata Eye

The Bird Like Quintet

Jazz Combos

HSU Jazz Combos play swing, Latin, bop, funk, early and modern jazz on Friday, November 13 at 8 p.m. in the Fulkerson Recital Hall on the HSU campus in Arcata. Tickets are $7 general, $3 students/seniors, from the HSU Ticket Office (826-3928) or at the door. Free to HSU students with ID. Directed by Shao Way Wu, produced by HSU Department of Music.

From Samba to “Superfly”: Jazz Combos in Concert

“The program is diverse and true to the mercurial nature of jazz,” said Shao Way Wu, director of this year’s Jazz Combos. Five small ensembles will perform tunes in a range of styles, including swing, Latin, hard bop, funk and both early and modern jazz, as well as original compositions.

For example, The Peanut Gallery Quartet (led by guitarist Clayton Bennet) will play the bop classic “Airegin” by Sonny Rollins, and The Austin Power Trio (led by guitarist Colin Gaddie) will offer “La Samba” by Ray Obiedo.

Led by drummer Brett Huska, The Slippery Society will do a set of New Orleans style early jazz. The Bird Like Quintet, a co-op band with two horns, performs the bluesy “Cornbread” by Lee Morgan, and the funk combo Watermelonperson plays the 70s hit, “Superfly.”

The HSU Jazz Combos perform on Friday, November 13 at 8 p.m. in the Fulkerson Recital Hall on the HSU campus in Arcata. Tickets are $7 general, $3 students/seniors, from the HSU Ticket Office (826-3928) or at the door. Free to HSU students with ID.

Media: Humboldt State Now, North Coast Journal, Arcata Eye.

2009 Jazz Orchestra in rehearsal. Click photo to enlarge.

Symphonic Band & Jazz Orchestra

HSU Symphonic Band plays a Shaker dance, a poignant elegy and a tribute to cartoon chases, followed by the Jazz Orchestra playing Duke Ellington, Wayne Shorter and Dave Holland in their joint concert on Saturday, October 17 at 8 p.m. in the Fulkerson Recital Hall on the HSU campus in Arcata. Tickets are $7 general, $3 students/seniors, from the HSU Ticket Office (826-3928) or at the door. Free to HSU students with ID. An HSU Department of Music Production. Symphonic Band conducted by Kenneth Ayoob. Jazz Orchestra directed by Shao Way Wu.

What’s Up, Doc? Symphonic Band and Jazz Orchestra Concert

The HSU Symphonic Band begins the new school year with a short but eclectic program, featuring “Cartoon” by composer Paul Hart, a tribute to the classic cartoon scores of the golden age of Warner Brothers: the Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote, Bugs Bunny and Porky Pig, Tweety and Sylvester, in Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies.

“One can hear the cat chase the mouse, the anvil fall from the sky, and the rousing overture under the opening credits,” said Symphonic Band conductor Kenneth Ayoob.

In contrast, the Symphonic Band also plays “Elegy” by John Barnes Chance, “one of the most poignant and expressive works in the band literature.” “Chorale and Shaker Dance” by John Zdechlik is based on the classic Shaker tune, “Simple Gifts.”

For the concert’s second half, the HSU Jazz Orchestra takes over, performing “Razor’s Edge” by Dave Holland, the classic “Caravan” by Duke Ellington, and “Yes or No” by Wayne Shorter. This year the Jazz Orchestra is directed by noted bassist Shao Way Wu, now teaching at HSU.

The Symphonic Band and Jazz Orchestra perform their joint concert on Saturday, October 17 at 8 p.m. in the Fulkerson Recital Hall on the HSU campus in Arcata. Tickets are $7 general, $3 students/seniors, from the HSU Ticket Office (826-3928) or at the door. Free to HSU students with ID.

Media: HSU Now, Arcata Eye.