Clarksville’s Gateway Chamber Orchestra to host “Wind Serenades” concert at APSU February 9th-10th

Clarksville, TN – There’s a famous scene in the 1984 Oscar-winning film “Amadeus” where the Italian composer Antonio Salieri looks over sheet music for Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “Gran Partita” serenade.

Salieri’s face contorts into a mixture of agony and ecstasy as he images the sounds of that serenade’s “Adagio.”

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Gateway Chamber Orchestra recognized on 55th Annual Grammy Awards nominees list

Clarksville, TN – On Wednesday night, following a nationally televised concert in Nashville, the nominees for the 55th Annual Grammy Awards were announced.

Near the very bottom of that list of nominees, available online at www.grammy.com/nominees, was the category for “Producer of the Year, Classical,” and the name Blanton Alspaugh.

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Gateway Chamber Orchestra Begins New Season with New Identity

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.”

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Grammy-nominated Gateway Chamber Ensemble to Perform Tonight at APSU

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.

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APSU’s Gateway Chamber Ensemble Recognized on Grammy Nomination List

Clarksville, TN – Last week, the Grammy Award nominations were announced, and some of the expected names – Jay-Z, Lady Gaga and Eminem – were at the top of the list. But the Grammys recognize more than simply pop music, and if you were to scroll down that list, you would see the category for “Producer of the Year, Classical,” and the name Blanton Alspaugh.

Alspaugh’s name might not carry the weight in some circles as say a Lady Gaga, but in the classical music world, he’s a respected and revered producer. And, according to the Grammy website, one of the reasons he was nominated this year for a coveted Grammy Award stems from his work producing the first album for a chamber ensemble founded by several Austin Peay State University music faculty members. That group, the Gateway Chamber Ensemble, was also considered for nominations in three other categories, including “Best Small Ensemble Performance.”

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Gateway Chamber Ensemble Concert to Feature Renowned Flutist William Bennett

Clarksville, TN – Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach’s Flute concerto in D minor is a dazzlingly complex and powerful piece of music. The work is not often performed because of the challenges it presents potential players. So when Clarksville’s Gateway Chamber Ensemble decided to include the piece on the program for its second concert of the season, it enlisted the renowned British flutist William Bennett to accompany them.

“He is probably the greatest living flute player and teacher,” Dr. Gregory Wolynec, APSU associate professor of music and director of the ensemble, said. “He’s going to be here for 10 days as part of the Acuff Residency, and he volunteered his services to do the spectacular concerto by C.P.E. Bach, who may be the most famous of Johann Sebastian Bach’s children.”

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New CD by APSU’s Gateway Chamber Ensemble Lauded by National Music Magazine

Classical music aficionados were surprised last month when they picked up the latest issue of Fanfare Magazine and read that a chamber ensemble out of Clarksville had recorded the definitive version of Mozart’s “Wind Serenade in B flat” and Richard Strauss’s “Wind Serenade in E flat.” Music critic Jerry Dubins even said the recordings by this previously unknown group ranked above the performances by prominent ensembles from New York, London and around the world.

The Gateway Chamber Ensemble, which consists of Austin Peay State University faculty members and professional musicians from around the region, released its first CD, “Wind Serenades,” in March, and critics with Fanfare Magazine, one of the genre’s pre-eminent publications, immediately took note of the recording’s high quality.

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