Come see UNCSA faculty perform an all-Berio Sequenza concert tomorrow night, April 30.

Luciano Berio’s Sequenza series is one of the most significant musical achievements of the late 20th century, an output of virtuoso compositions that stretch the boundaries of both the instruments and the performer. The UNCSA faculty collaborates to present an evening of six Sequenzas by Tadeu Coelho, flute; Sheila Browne, viola; Taimur Sullivan, soprano saxophone; Judith Saxton, trumpet; Saxton Rose, bassoon; and Brooks Whitehouse, cello.
7:30 p.m. at Watson Chamber Music Hall
$12 adults / $10 seniors and students plus $1 facility usage fee.

On April 19th, I performed with Dark in the Song, a contemporary bassoon collective, as part of the Watson Chamber Music Series at UNCSA. Works by Frank Zappa, Jacob Ter Veldhuis and premieres of works commissioned by Dark in the Song by Chris Dietz, Amy Beth Kirsten, Moon Young Ha and Zhou Juan.

Watch video of the performance.

Contemporary bassoon collective, Dark in the Song will perform this Tuesday, April 19th at Watson Recital Hall on the UNCSA campus at 7:30pm. Music by Jacob Ter Veldhuis, Michael Torke, David Smooke, and 3 world premieres by Christopher Dietz, Moon Young Ha, and Amy Beth Kirsten.

Adventurous new music for bassoon ensemble. Called a “bassoon supergroup” by the American Music Center, Dark in the Song was formed in 2010 by five of the most innovative and accomplished bassoonists in the new music scene today. Learn more at our website: http://darkinthesong.com

Program

• July (1995) for 4 bassoons and contrabassoon
  by Michael Torke, arr. Lynn Hileman
• Air is a light sorrow (2011 ) for 4 bassoons and contrabassoon *World Premiere
  by Moon Young Ha
• Thicket (2011) for 5 bassoons *World Premiere
  by Christopher Dietz
• World Under Glass No. 1 (2011) for 5 bassoons *World Premiere
  by Amy Beth Kirsten
• 21 Miles to Coolville (2009) for solo bassoon and three accompanying bassoons
  David Smooke
• Pitch Black (1998) for getto baster & bassoon quartet
  by Jacob ter Veldhuis, arr. Saxton Rose

Soundchecking in Berlin

On March 21st I performed at the Philharmonie, where the Berlin Philharmonic plays, with Alarm Will Sound, one of the world’s premier contemporary chamber orchestras. Three days of rehearsals in New York and a quick trip to Berlin for the concert proved a thrilling and challenging experience. I was blown away by the talent of the group and the focused yet friendly atmosphere Alan Pierson and the members have cultivated. Here’s the program:

Harrison Birtwistle
“Carmen Arcadiae Mechanicae Perpetuum” für Ensemble

Wolfgang Rihm
“Will Sound” für Ensemble

John Adams
“Son of Chamber Symphony” für Kammerensemble

John Orfe
“Dowland Remix” (Flow My Tears)

Aphex Twin
“Cock/Ver 10″ arr. Stefan Freund
“Omgyjya Switch 7″ arr. Evan Hause
“Gwely Mernans” arr. Ken Thomson

Stefan Freund
“Unremixed”

On March 12, 13, and 15 I performed Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4, Prokofiev’s Symphony no. 1 and Mozart’s Concerto for Clarinet with the Winston-Salem Symphony at the Steven’s Center in Winston-Salem, NC. Music director Robert Moody and clarinetist Anthony Taylor.

Performances with the Winston-Salem Symphony of Mendelssohn/Shakespeare: Midsummer Night;s Dream with UNCSA Drama Department February 5-8, 2011.

This past weekend I traveled to Memphis, TN to teach and perform at the annual Double Reed Festival presented by the Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music at the University of Memphis. The event was hosted by University of Memphis bassoon faculty Lecolion Washington and bassoonist Christopher Weait was also a guest. I had a terrific time playing, talking shop and eating BBQ with these excellent bassoonists.

Performances with the Winston-Salem Symphony January 7th and 9th of Rimsky Korsokov’s Scheherazade, Sibelius’ Finlandia, op. 26, Berg’s Violin Concerto and Brubeck’s Interplay for Three Violins. Robert Moody, conductor; Charles Dimmick, violin.

For the second year in a row, the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) has been ranked among Kiplinger’s Best Values in Public Colleges. In addition, UNCSA again took top honors in the “lowest student-faculty ratio” category.

Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine announced the 100 Best Values in Public Colleges today, ranking four-year institutions “that deliver a stellar education at an affordable price.” The annual rankings appear in Kiplinger’s February 2011 issue, on newsstands today, and online at www.kiplinger.com/tools/colleges.

UNCSA ranked 48th this year, breaking into the nation’s top 50 and up from 61st last year.

For the second year in a row, Kiplinger’s reported that: “The University of North Carolina School of the Arts earns top honors in the student-faculty category, with a ratio of 8-1.”

Kiplinger’s reports that it bases its rankings “on a combination of academics and affordability. We start with data from more than 500 public four-year schools, provided by Peterson’s/Nelnet, then add our own reporting. We narrow the list to about 120 schools based on measures of academic quality — including SAT or ACT scores, admission and retention rates, student-faculty ratios, and four- and six-year graduation rates, which most schools reported for the class that entered in 2003. We then rank each school based on cost and financial aid. In our scoring system, academic quality carries more weight than costs (almost two-thirds of the total).”

I currently serve as the chair of the International Double Reed Society Young Artist Bassoon Competition and I’m pleased to announce the list of judges for the competition’s preliminary round. I am extremely grateful to these individuals for their generosity and expertise, and to the competition committee: Nancy Ambrose King, Eric Stomberg and Kathleen McLean.

Judges for preliminary round
Whitney Crockett: Principal bassoon of Los Angeles Philharmonic

Carlo Colombo: Principal bassoon of Lyon National Opera Orchestra (France) and professor at the Lyon and Lausanne Conservatories

Lynn Hileman: Professor of Bassoon at West Virginia University