APSU Clarinetist Wang receives Tennessee Individual Artist Fellowship
September 13, 2012
Mingzhe Wang
Clarksville, TN – Dr. Mingzhe Wang, Austin Peay State University assistant professor of music, was in New York City this summer when his cell phone started ringing. The unfamiliar number had a 931 area code, so he thought someone on campus might be trying to contact him.
“I picked it up and it was (Tennessee State Senator) Tim Barnes,” Wang recalled recently. “I thought, oh, he’s probably calling me about some re-election stuff.”
But Barnes was calling for another reason. He congratulated Wang for being one of only two musicians in the state to receive a coveted Tennessee Arts Commission Individual Artists Fellowship. [Read more]
Gateway Chamber Orchestra Begins New Season with New Identity
August 20, 2012
Clarksville, TN – The Gateway Chamber Orchestra, which kicks off its third subscription season at 7:30pm on August 30th, can’t be accused of lacking ambition.
“Our goal is to be one of the world’s great chamber orchestras,” Dr. Gregory Wolynec, the ensemble’s conductor, said recently. “There is a great symphony orchestra, the Nashville Symphony, 45 minutes down the road. We offer something different. The energy and spirit of this group has been just magical.”
Gateway Chamber Orchestra
Renowned flutist William Bennett to perform at Austin Peay State University on June 28th
June 27, 2012
Austin Peay State University
Clarksville, TN – In 1995, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth presented flutist William Bennett with the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for his distinguished services to music.
He has been called the “greatest living flute player in the world,” and musicians across the globe dream of someday studying under his guidance. [Read more]
Fort Campbell’s 4th Brigade Combat Team “Whiskey Company” gets visit from Army Chief of Staff General Raymond T. Odierno
April 15, 2012
Austin Peay State University
Clarksville, TN – In March of 2011, an obituary appeared in the New York Times announcing the death of the great American composer Lee Hoiby at the age of 85.
The article championed his career, mentioning such notable works as his 1964 opera “Natalia Petrovna,” but for those who knew Hoiby, his death left something unfinished – an unperformed flute concerto he wrote 17 years earlier.
APSU's Gateway Chamber Orchestra presents world premiere of famed composers work
February 26th concert to showcase Clarksville’s newest semi-professional Gateway Choir
February 24, 2012
Clarksville, TN – The city of Clarksville is deceptively large. Sure, there’s the small town charm of Franklin Street and the local university, but spread over about 95 square miles, more than 130,000 people call the city home. For a couple of faculty members in the Austin Peay State University music department, that makes Clarksville large enough to need certain cosmopolitan attractions.
“We feel Clarksville should have an orchestra of its own, and there should be a choral component to go along with that,” Dr. Gregory Wolynec, APSU associate professor of music, said. [Read more]
Austin Peay State University Music and Dance Faculty collaborate on Stravinsky Concert
February 7, 2012
Clarksville, TN – The Russian composer Igor Stravinsky’s extraordinary musical/theatrical/dance work “The Soldier’s Tale” premièred at the end of World War I, during a time of moral and economic turmoil. Nearly 100 years later, with the world in a similar state, two Austin Peay State University creative arts departments are resurrecting the complex work for a rare, one night only collaborative performance.
“It’s based on a Russian folk tale about a soldier on leave who unknowingly makes a deal with the devil,” Dr. Gregory Wolynec, APSU associate professor of music, said. “It’s based on the basic moral that the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.”
Austin Peay State University’s Gateway Chamber Orchestra presents “Pastoral Soundscapes” Concert on January 30th
January 26, 2012
Clarksville, TN – In the late 1850s, the German composer Johannes Brahms was taking a stroll through the Bavarian countryside when he was suddenly struck by the lush green hills and snow-covered Alps surrounding him. He wanted to recreate the immense beauty of this land through music, so he set to work composing a short symphony serenade for nine players, using the unique folk rhythms and melodies of the area.
“It was beautiful music, drawn from his surroundings,” Dr. Gregory Wolynec, APSU associate professor of music, said.
The work, known as Brahms’ Serenade No. 1, is typically performed by a full orchestra, but at 7:30pm on January 30th, APSU’s Grammy-nominated Gateway Chamber Orchestra will present the work as the composer originally conceived it.
Austin Peay State University's Gateway Chamber Orchestra
APSU Center of Excellence Creates YouTube Videos about Upcoming Fall Performances
September 29, 2011
Clarksville, TN – One of the perks of attending the state’s designated liberal arts university, with Tennessee’s only Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts, is there’s no shortage of things to do. On almost any night of the week, Austin Peay State University freshmen can attend poetry readings, art gallery openings, plays, dance performances or musical concerts, all within a few feet of their residence halls.
Gateway Chamber Orchestra Opens Season with September 26th “Contrasting Lines” Concert
September 21, 2011
Clarksville, TN – In the mid-18th century, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, like all good rebellious children, decided to break away from the style and tradition of his father – composer Johann Sebastian Bach. Some might argue that it was a foolish move, considering that C.P.E. Bach has always lingered under the long shadow cast by his legendary father.
But others, including the likes of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Joseph Haydn, saw the son as the true innovator who brought something new to the musical world. Mozart even famously said that the younger Bach “is the father, we are the children.”
Gateway Chamber Orchestra
