|
|
|
|
Tuesday Symphony concert to feature music by Vivaldi |
|
Sunday, 29 November 2009 |
By GWEN SISSON
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Music by 18th century Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi will be featured in a special holiday concert by the Starkville-Mississippi State University Symphony Orchestra this week.
The annual Criss Christmas Concert will be held at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Bettersworth Auditorium at Lee Hall on the MSU campus. The free concert is made possible by grants from the J.W. Criss Memorial Foundation. The event is open to the public.
Many talented performers will take the stage Tuesday night to make this year’s Criss Christmas concert memorable.
The “Concerto for Two Trumpets” will feature music department assistant professor Michael Huff and instructor Virginia Huff of East Mississippi Community College.
James Sullivan, principal oboist with the Alabama Symphony will perform “Oboe Concert in F Minor.”
The “Concerto for Tow Guitars,” will feature two outstanding performers, Michael Patilla and guest artist, Michael Partington of Seattle, Wash.
The remainder of the concert will feature the MSU Chamber Singers performing “Gloria” under the direction of J. Bruce Lesley. Soloist Rebecca Wascoe and guest artist, Nicole Leupp of Champaign, Ill. will delight audiences.
Guest artist Michael Partington
Michael Partington is one of the most engaging of the new generation of concert players.
Praised by Classical Guitar Magazine for his “lyricism, intensity and clear technical command,” this award-winning British guitarist has performed internationally as a soloist and with ensemble to unanimous critical praise.
He began playing guitar at age 6 while growing up in Wales, gave his first public performance at age 7 and won his first competition at age 9. He has trained with many of the world’s greatest guitarists, including Oscar Ghiglia, Eliot Fisk, Eduardo Fernandez, Manuel Barrueco and David Russell, who commented on his “exquisite good taste and fluid perfection.”
An advocate of new music, he has commissioned and premiered works by Stephen Goss, Bryan Johanson, Toshio Hosokawa, Angelo Gilardino, Tom Baker, Kevin Callahan and others. He is a frequent performer and teacher at festivals, including the Guitar Foundation of America Festival, Llantilio Crossenny Festival, La Guitarra California, Portland Guitar Festival, Northwest Guitar Festival, Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival, Cascadia Festival and Chelan Bach Fest.
He has also performed with Orchestra Seattle, Seattle Chamber Players, Seattle Creative Orchestra, Wenatchee Valley Symphony, Rainier Symphony, Portland State University Orchestra, Seattle Symphony Chorale, Seattle Choral Company, and flutist Paul Taub in the duo Dinamici.
Partington is frequently invited to adjudicate or sit on the jury for local, national and international competitions in the U.S. and Canada, including the Guitar Foundation of America competition, the National finals for the Federation of Canadian Music Festivals, the Music Teachers of North America national finals and the Portland Guitar Competition.
His recordings are available on the Rosewood Recordings, Present Sounds and Cadenza Music labels. He currently lives in Seattle where he is director of the Guitar Program at the University of Washington.
Guest artist Nicole Leupp
Soprano Nicole Leupp has performed as a soloist with the Jussi Björling Festival in Sweden, the Maggio Musicale Festival in Italy and the Pacific Music Festival in Japan.
She has performed a solo recital at St. Martin’s in the Field in London , Berg’s “Sieben Frühe Lieder” at Durham Cathedral in Durham, England and was a soloist in Opera Galas for Amnesty International at St. James’ Picadilly in London and for the Cairo Opera in Egypt which was recorded for Egyptian television. Opera roles include Die Feldmarschallin in Der Rosenkavalier.
The Countess in “Le Nozze di Figaro,” Rosalinde in “Die Fledermaus,” Miss Jessel in “The Turn of the Screw,” and the role of Sian in development workshops of James McMillan’s new opera “The Sacrifice” for Welsh National Opera.
Upcoming projects include a performance of Schubert’s Winterreise with renowned accompanist, John Wustman. Dr. Leupp holds degrees from the University of Colorado and the University of Illinois, as well as a post-graduate diploma from the Royal Academy of Music in London, where she was awarded the diploma of the Royal Academy for distinction in performance. She currently serves on the faculty of Millikin University.
For more information about the Criss Christmas concert or the Starkville-MSU Symphony Orchestra, visit the Web site at http://www.starkvillemsusymphony.org.
|
|
Last Updated ( Monday, 30 November 2009 )
|
|
|
|
