William Ludwig, professor of bassoon at Indiana University - Bloomington, will present a master class and recital at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem, NC on Thursday, February 19th. The master class will take place from 2:00-4:00pm in Hood Recital Hall in the Gray Building and the recital is in Watson Hall at 6:00pm. Both events are free and open to the public. For more information, please contact me.

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William Ludwig
William Ludwig joined the faculty of the IU Jacobs School of Music in August of 2007. Previous to this appointment he had been Professor of Bassoon at Louisiana State University since 1985. For the last seven summers he has been in residence at the Brevard Music Center as principal bassoon and artist faculty.

His orchestral experience includes principal bassoon with the Baton Rouge Symphony (1986-2007) and the Florida Orchestra (1980-1985). A noted chamber musician he has performed in a wide variety of settings in the United States and Europe, including at the Prague Spring International Music Festival and Highlands (NC) Chamber Music Festival and with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Timm Wind Quintet and Ars Nova Wind Quintet. He was artist-in-residence at the State University of New York-Stony Brook Department of Music from 1989 to 1994 concurrently with his LSU appointment and taught at the University of South Florida from 1979 to 1985. He holds degrees from Louisiana State University and Yale School of Music and studied with John Patterson, Sol Schoenbach, Leonard Sharrow, Bernard Garfield and Arthur Weisberg.

The University of North Carolina School of the Arts hosted a woodwind day December 6th from 9am until 5pm. The event included master classes, reed making seminars, clinics on performance anxiety and practice methods by myself and UNCSA faculty members John Ellis (oboe), Tadeu Coelho (flute), Taimur Sullivan (saxophone) and Igor Begelman (clarinet). That evening the woodwind faculty performed a recital in Watson Hall on the UNCSA campus including André Previn’s Sonata for Bassoon and Piano and Mendelssohn’s Concertpiece No. 2.

Schedule:

• 9:00am A performance of Stravinsky’s Octet for winds given by UNCSA graduate students
• 10:00am Clinics on improving practice habits and combating performance anxiety
• 12:00pm Lunch
• 1:00pm Individual master classes and reed making seminar given by UNCSA woodwind faculty including oboe professor John Ellis and bassoon professor Saxton Rose
• 3:00pm Open rehearsal of the UNCSA Wind Ensemble
• 7:30pm Performance by the UNCSA woodwind faculty: Saxton Rose, bassoon; John Ellis, oboe; Taimur Sullivan, saxophone; Igor Begelman, clarinet; Tadeu Colelho, flute

On October 21st I had the pleasure of performing Sofia Gubaidulina’s Duo Sonata, originally for two bassoons, with my UNCSA colleague Taimur Sullivan on Bari Sax. The piece works surprisingly well for this combination and I highly recommend it when planning a program with saxophone. There is a popular edition available for two baritone saxophones and playing from either part using this edition works well with only a few minor adjustments. The performance took place in Watson Music Hall on the UNCSA campus.

The following is Saxton Rose’s performance and event schedule for the 2008/2009 season. It is subject to change so if you have questions about attending an event, please contact me. Map to University of North Carolina School of the Arts.

September 18, 20, 21 and 22:

Performances with the Winston-Salem Symphony of Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben.

October 11:

Performance with the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra of Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G major, Roberto Sierra’s Fandangos and Beethoven’s Symphony no. 3; José Ramos Santana, piano; Maximiano Valdés, conducting. 8pm Centro de Bellas Artes, San Juan, Puerto Rico

October 21:

Performance of Gubaidulina’s Duo Sonata with UNCSA faculty member Taimur Sullivan on baritone saxophone. 7:30 p.m., Watson Chamber Music Hall at UNCSA

November 22:

Performance with the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra of Smetana’s Overture to The Bartered Bride, Debussy’s La Mer and Brahms’ Violin Concerto with Sarah Chang, violin; Luis Biava, conducting. 8pm Centro de Bellas Artes, San Juan, Puerto Rico

December 6:

Woodwind Day at UNCSA. Bassoon master class, reed making seminar, bassoon ensemble concert and a performance with the UNCSA woodwind faculty including André Previn’s Sonata for Bassoon and Piano and Mendelssohn’s Concertpiece No. 2 with clarinetist Igor Belgelman and pianist Alex Maynegre.

December 18, 19:

Performances with the Winston-Salem Symphony of Handel’s Messiah

January 19:

Performance with Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos conducting the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra of a program including Stravinsky’s The Firebird and Respighi’s Fountains of Rome. 8pm Centro de Bellas Artes, San Juan, Puerto Rico

January 24:

Performances with the Winston-Salem Symphony of Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf

February 8 and 10:

Performance as soloist with the Winston-Salem Symphony of Mozart’s Sinfonia concertante, K 297b; Robert Moody, conductor. More information

February 14:

Performance of Gubaidulina’s Quasi Hoquetus for viola, bassoon and piano with UNCSA faculty members, Sheila Browne and Karen Beres. 7:30 p.m., Watson Chamber Music Hall at UNCSA

February 16:

Recital and master class at the University of South Carolina hosted by Professor Peter Kolkay. For more information, email Peter Kolkay at pkolkay@mozart.sc.edu

March 6:

Performance with the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra as part of the Casals Festival. 8pm Centro de Bellas Artes, San Juan, Puerto Rico

March 8, 9:

Performances with the Winston-Salem Symphony and JoAnn Falletta of Mendelssohn’s Concerto in D minor for Violin, Piano, and String Orchestra and Brahms’ Symphony No. 2 in D Major. Michael Ludwig, violin; Benjamin Loeb, piano

April 4:

Chamber music concert with UNCSA flutist, Tadeu Coelho, harpsichordist Eric Larsen and oboist John Ellis. 7:30 p.m., Watson Chamber Music Hall at UNCSA

April 18:

Performance with the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra of Poulenc’s Gloria, Ravel’s Shéhérazade and Messiaen’s Les Offrandes oubliées (1930) (The forgotten offerings). Maximiano Valdés, conducting; Magda Nieves, soprano. 8pm Centro de Bellas Artes, San Juan, Puerto Rico

May 17, 19:

Performances with the Winston-Salem Symphony of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in D minor

May 30:

Performance with the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra of Ravel’s Rapsodia española and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Shéhérazade. Maximiano Valdés, conducting. 8pm Centro de Bellas Artes, San Juan, Puerto Rico

I have recently accepted a new position at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem, North Carolina to begin September of 2008. This is a full-time position requiring me and my emergent family to move from our home in Puerto Rico. This is an exciting new opportunity giving me the chance to teach in a supportive environment, one that strongly encourages its faculty to perform. I look forward to working and performing with the exceptional world-class faculty at UNCSA.

Leaving Puerto Rico was a difficult decision as my work with the symphony and the conservatory was extremely rewarding. We will greatly miss our dear friends and colleagues and the beautiful island we called home for 4 1/2 years.