APSU Choir and Chamber Singers Examine “The Seasons” During April 25th Concert
April 12, 2011
Clarksville, TN – The Austin Peay State University Choir and the APSU Chamber Singers are distilling an entire year into its most basic, visceral elements later this month with their final concert of the semester, “The Seasons.”
The performance, which begins at 7:30pm on April 25th in the APSU Music/Mass Communication Building, will feature noted composers’ musical interpretations of the four different seasons, with works being sung in English, Chinese, Japanese, French, Italian, Spanish and German. [Read more]
APSU Remembers Legacy and Friendship of Late Composer Lee Hoiby
April 6, 2011
Clarksville, TN – In his later years, the renowned American composer Lee Hoiby was a quiet, slender gentleman with wavy gray hair and intelligent, often amused eyes. His appearance suited his style of music, which was reminiscent of the pleasing tunes of the early Romantic era and of his idol, Franz Schubert.
“His music is beautiful,” Gregory Wolynec, Austin Peay State University associate professor of music, said. “When we think of contemporary music, we frequently think of things that can be difficult for audiences to approach. But Lee Hoiby considered himself the caretaker of an heirloomed garden that started back with Mozart and Haydn, and even earlier than that.”
Lena Orgain, APSU Professor of Music Jeffrey Wood and the late American composer Lee Hoiby.
Jazz Great John Pizzarelli Headlines 50th Anniversary of Jazz Festival at APSU
April 3, 2011
Clarksville, TN – This spring marks the 50th anniversary of the Austin Peay State University Mid-South Jazz Festival, and to honor this milestone, APSU is bringing in one of the foremost jazz musicians working today as its featured performer.
John Pizzarelli and the Swing 7, a staple at world-renowned jazz clubs such as New York City’s Birdland, will perform their take on some of the genre’s standards by Duke Ellington and Count Basie at 7:30pm, April 8th, in the APSU Music/Mass Communication Building’s Concert Hall. Tickets are $25.00. [Read more]
Gateway Chamber Ensemble Finishes Season with Works and Influences of Schoenberg
April 1, 2011
Clarksville, TN – In 2008, a group of Austin Peay State University music faculty members set themselves a challenge. They intended to perform Arnold Schoenberg’s Chamber Symphony, Opus Nine, for 15 Soloists – one of the most important, yet challenging, compositions from the 20th century.
“It’s daunting. The demands on individual players are great,” Dr. Gregory Wolynec, associate professor of music, said.
APSU's Gateway Chamber Ensemble
APSU Percussion Ensemble Performs Free Spring Concert on March 31st
March 30, 2011
Clarksville, TN – Anyone familiar with Austin Peay State University music professor David Steinquest’s annual Percussion Ensemble Halloween Concerts, with their strange mixture of music and mayhem, won’t be surprised to learn that even the traditional spring performances he organizes are marked by a wild originality.
Audience members attending the free percussion ensemble concert at 7:30pm on March 31st in the Music/Mass Communication Building’s Concert Hall will be treated to everything from sisters playing part of the score to “Schindler’s List” to an orchestra performing the Pizzicato Polka using only plastic tubes known as boom-wackers. [Read more]
APSU’s Dimensions Series Explores Composer Enescu and his Chamber Symphony
March 12, 2011
Clarksville, TN – In 1958, the conductor Constantin Silvestri experienced a slight dilemma. He was set to premiere composer George Enescu’s last work, Chamber Symphony for 12 Players, but he worried the Romanian audience wouldn’t appreciate the complexities or the brilliance of the work.
“He was convinced the audience would not be able to grasp it on first hearing it, so he had it played twice,” Dr. Gregory Wolynec, associate professor of music at Austin Peay State University, said. “This last work of his, people who specialize in the music of this composer refer to it as the hardest to understand.”
Gateway Chamber Ensemble
APSU Chamber Singers Tour Tennessee and Kentucky
March 1, 2011
Clarksville, TN – The Chamber Singers, Austin Peay State University’s premiere choral ensemble, is hitting the road this week in order to bring high caliber performances to four communities in Tennessee and Kentucky.
“It’s a free concert, and it allows individuals in those communities to see and experience the fantastic music department at APSU,” Korre Foster, assistant professor of music at APSU and conductor of the ensemble, said. [Read more]
Grammy-nominated Gateway Chamber Ensemble to Perform Tonight at APSU
February 21, 2011
Clarksville, TN – To say that the Gateway Chamber Ensemble’s first CD, “Wind Serenades,” was a success is a bit of an understatement. Late last year, the group founded by several Austin Peay State University music faculty members learned their album was being considered for Grammy nominations in several categories – including producer of the year, engineered sound and best small ensemble performance.
“(They) have managed to assemble a top-notch performing ensemble that now enters the big leagues with the national and international release of its new super audio CD,” music critic Steven Ritter wrote last year in Fanfare Magazine, the leading classical music publication in the country.
Gateway Chamber Ensemble
Provost Lecture Series at APSU to explore stage fright
February 16, 2011
Clarksville, TN – The next Provost Lecture Series at Austin Peay State University will explore performance anxiety/stage fright as a nemesis in the lives of some professors and students.
Dr. Thomas King, professor of music, will present “Weak Knees? Sweaty Palms? The Anxiety Doctor Can Help” from 3:00pm-4:30pm, Thursday, February 17th in the Morgan University Center, Room 308. The event is free and open to the public. [Read more]
Annual GuitarFest Brings International Players to APSU
February 14, 2011
Clarksville, TN – Austin Peay State University will once again hold its annual GuitarFest, February 28th-March 3rd, bringing an exciting line-up of international guitar virtuosi to the campus. The performance line-up this year includes Croatian guitarist Ana Vidovic, Chilean guitarist Carlos Perez and the Douglas James-Pasquale Rucco guitar duo.
Vidovic, already a widely travelled international performer, recording artist and recipient of multiple international awards, will perform a program of classics by Bach, Tarrega, Albeniz, Lauro, Barrios and Castelnuovo-Tedseco at 7.30pm on Monday, February 28th in the Music/Mass Communication Building Concert Hall. Tickets for this performance, which is co-sponsored by the Clarksville Concert Artists Association and APSU’s Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts, may be purchased online at www.clarksvillemusic.org or by calling the APSU Music Office at 931-221-7818. [Read more]
