An important thing to remember about the music faculty at West Virginia University is that they’re experienced, sought-after musicians in their own right. And audiences will get the chance to see them perform, both at a West Virginia high school and on the main campus in Morgantown.
The WVU Chamber Players will perform for John Marshall High School in Glen Dale at 7 p.m. Monday, March 14, at the School’s Center for the Performing Arts. They’ll repeat the concert back at WVU at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 15, in Bloch Learning and Performance Hall, 200A Creative Arts Center.
Both concerts are free and open to the public.
“The WVU School of Music is particularly outstanding for the number of faculty who perform at a very high level and who love to collaborate,” said Mikylah McTeer, associate professor of violin and coordinator of WVU’s string program. “The Chamber Players gives us the opportunity to perform different, unusual, fantastic pieces of music with our talented colleagues.”
The program features:
• Samuel Scheidt’s “Centone No. 5” for trumpet, trombone, and horn
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “Trio for Viola, Clarinet, and Piano,” commonly known as “The Kegelstatt Trio”
• Alfred Schnittke’s “Moz-art” for two violins
• Ingolf Dahl’s “Music for Brass Instruments,” for two trumpets, two trombones, and horn
• Sergei Prokofiev’s “Sonata for Two Violins,” Op. 56
• And George Enesco’s “Dixtuor” for two flutes, oboe, English horn, two clarinets, two bassoons, and two horns
Cynthia Anderson, professor of oboe and director of graduate studies in music, cherishes the faculty’s collaborative nature.
“We all have professional obligations, orchestral, ensemble, and solo recital opportunities outside of the University,” Anderson said. “But the Chamber Players is a chance to collaborate across our areas of specialization and gives us a chance to play literature that combines string, brass, and woodwind faculty, expanding our repertoire. Collaborating with my closest colleagues here at WVU is a rare treat.”
Another treat is the chance to perform with some of WVU’s outstanding graduate students, who will sit in with the Chamber Players for this concert.
“We’ll be joined by several of our talented students for many of the pieces,” said Mitchell Arnold, WVU’s Director of Orchestral Activities who will conduct one of the pieces on the program. “It is rewarding to us as teachers to be able to share the concert stage with our fine students.”
“When our graduate wind quintet was asked to collaborate with the faculty, we immediately said ‘Yes!’” said Lauren Harris, who is pursuing a master’s of music at WVU. “In sitting next to your professors, one learns how truly gifted the faculty are.”
Harris notes that, at many universities, “performing a difficult chamber work with half of the ensemble being students could be difficult to pull off, but because of the level of ability across the board, our groups fit together nicely.”
For details about the Glen Dale performance, contact the John Marshall High School Music Department at 304-843-4444×160. For information on the Morgantown performance, please contact the College of Creative Arts at 304-293-3397.
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CONTACT: David Welsh, WVU College of Creative Arts
304.293.3397; David.Welsh@mail.wvu.edu
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