Thanks to Professor Massinon who submitted this great photo of the APSU Horn Ensemble after their recent concert!

The Wind Ensemble concert last Tuesday evening, under the direction of Dr. Gregory Wolynec, was a truly special event for the Department of Music. Two moving premieres, including a piece by Austin Peay Professor of Music Dr. Jeffrey Wood, were juxtaposed by a special surprise in honor of Professor Richard Steffen’s 25 years of service at Austin Peay.

The program opened with Canzona duodecimi toni by Giovanni Gabrieli, performed antiphonally from the balconies by the brass. Following this performance, the wind ensemble joined soloist Professor Richard Steffen for the premiere of Contemplations for Flugelhorn and Wind Ensemble by Anthony Plog. Several days earlier, Plog traveled from Germany to Clarksville to work with the ensemble in rehearsal and to attend this concert. While Professor Steffen knew that he was giving the premiere performance of this piece, he did know that the piece was dedicated to him and was commissioned by Austin Peay alumni and by University Bands in his honor.

Following the performance, Steffen was presented with the dedication, and many alumni enthusiastically acknowledged his service and contributions from the audience. Backstage, a phone call was waiting for him—his former teacher John Haynie, Professor Emeritus at the University of North Texas, was waiting to congratulate him.

The second half of the concert began with Suite francaise by Darius Milhaud and concluded with Dr. Wood’s Freylekhs and Fugue. This electrifying work is described by the composer in his program notes as, “a kind of ‘structured fantasy,’ in the spirit of klezmer.” Three melodies/gestures are used throughout the work and come together to bring the piece to a dramatic close. Several wind players enjoyed virtuosic solos that highlight the klezmer style of the piece.

Congratulations to everyone who made this landmark event possible!

The concert last Tuesday marked the inaugural performance of the APSU Double Reed Ensemble, which I direct. It was a lot of fun to prepare for our concert and to perform for such a receptive audience. Our program included a variety of Renaissance pieces as well as an arrangement of a ragtime piece by Scott Joplin. Pictured below are the members of the first ever APSU Bassoon Quartet (from left to right: myself (Dr. Nora Lewis, director) Jessica Alter, Kedric Hill, and A.J. Burger.

In addition to performing at all of the home games and traveling to Samson for an away game, GOMB hosted the annual Mid South Marching Invitational at Austin Peay on October 27. Thirty high school bands participated, and it was a great opportunity for Austin Peay faculty members to visit with Austin Peay alumni who are now band directors and who brought their own bands to compete. Austin Peay was also one of the locations for the Bands of America Regional Championships on October 6. GOMB volunteers helped to keep the event running smoothly and performed twice, in exhibition performances.

Undergraduate students of all majors are selected by audition to participate in GOMB. Every member receives some tuition assistance for participation. The GOMB is directed by Andrea E. Brown, and Andrew Gaskill, Chris Gee, and Sarah Turner were the drum majors for the 2007-2008 season.

Laitman emphasized the inherent flexibility of each song, and she showed how her music has enormous capacity for expressive freedom, particularly at the ends of phrases. She showed how the performer can become the speaker of the poem to capture the sweeping musical gestures and nuance that can’t be included in the score. The audience also learned how Laitman uses a confluence of sounds in her settings. She is concerned both with the meaning of the text as well as the sounds and colors of the actual words.

To end the class, Laitman shared a preview of a work in progress.

The program opened with Dr. Sharon Mabry, mezzo-soprano, and pianist Patsy Wade who performed Laitman’s song cycle Mystery (1998), that sets poems by American poet Sara Teasdale (1884-1933).

Andrea Clearfield’s Three Songs for Oboe and Double Bass (After Poems by Pablo Neruda) (1997) was performed by my husband, Gordon Lewis, and me. It was a lot of fun to revisit and perform this piece again. We first performed this piece in 1998, shortly after we met, and it was the first piece we ever performed together.

Mezzo-soprano Lisa Conklin-Bishop, pianist Dr. Jeffrey Wood, and cellist Keith Nicholas then performed Laitman’s song cycle, The Seed of Dream (2004). This song cycle sets poems by Holocaust survivor Abraham Sutzkever, which were taken from his personal writings from 1941 to 1944.

Elizabeth Vercoe’s Corollaries for Solo Horn was premiered by Francis Massinon. This work begins with a one-minute theme that is followed by four variations, which the composer calls corollaries, because each corollary is a natural consequence to the theme. In 2003, Vercoe held the Acuff Chair of Excellence at Austin Peay State University, and she now teaches at Regis College.

The concert ended with tenor Dr. Thomas King and pianist Dr. Vicki King performing four songs by Laitman. Two of these songs, “Full Moon” (rev. 2006) and Light Hearted William (rev. 2006), both with text by William Carlos Williams, were premieres.

Since 1980 more than forty composers have come to our campus for premieres of their works and to speak to students about their work. I’m looking forward to Laitman’s master class later this morning, where she will coach APSU music students on several of her songs.

From the eerily decorated concert hall to the intense visual effects offered by the Mass Communication department, an appropriately creepy atmosphere complemented the spooky music. The program included rock classics such as Led Zeppelin’s Black Dog and Edgar Winter’s Frankenstein, which featured guitarist David Britton and bassist Gordon Lewis. APSU students Lindsey Rapp, soprano, and Christopher Bailey, tenor, sang The Phantom of the Opera and violinist Phoebe Gelzer-Govatos was featured on Psycho. Many of the pieces were arranged by Steinquest.

I was excited to have a small role in the production. Shrouded in a black cloak, I represented death as I played part of the Berceuse and Finale from Stravinsky’s Firebird on English horn. Magically, my character was transformed into the brilliant firebird, portrayed by Andrea Brown who played French horn.

The local newspaper, The Leaf-Chronicle covered the concert and some great pictures can be found in their Photo Gallery.

Established in 1985, The Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts at APSU offers many wonderful opportunities for students to work with internationally acclaimed guest artists. Earlier this week, students had an exciting opportunity to work with Cox in a master class.

Dr. Lisa Vanarsdel, flute
Dr. Patricia Halbeck, piano

Works by Kuhlau, Muczynski, Demersseman, and Dutilleux–more details to come!

This is my first year at Austin Peay, so I thought this blog would be a great forum to share my initial impressions. Since moving to Clarksville, everyone has been so welcoming, and the semester is off to an exciting beginning. Whether you are a member of the Austin Peay community or are a visitor interested in learning about our department, I hope you will enjoy this blog. Thanks for reading, and please feel free to share your comments.

All the best,
Nora Lewis
Assistant Professor of Music