May 3, 2004
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jo Ann Lloyd
(805) 756-1511
Cal Poly Symphony Concert May 23 To Be ‘Swanson’s Swan Song’
SAN LUIS OBISPO -- The Cal Poly Symphony’s Spring Concert on Sunday,
May
23, will be “Swanson’s Swan Song” -- the final symphony
performance to
be conducted by its founder, Clifton Swanson, who will retire from Cal
Poly at the end of spring quarter after 37 years.
The concert, at 2 p.m. in Harman Hall in the Performing Arts Center,
will open with the “Háry János Suite” by Zoltán
Kodály. Theresa Dimond
will be the featured soloist playing the cimbalom (Hungarian hammered
dulcimer).
Dimond is timpanist and percussionist with the San Luis
Obispo Mozart Festival and Los Angeles Opera, as well as with numerous
Hollywood studios. She has performed the “Háry János
Suite” as soloist
with the Pasadena Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. She also
has been asked to perform it under the baton of Kurt Masur (former
conductor of the New York Philharmonic and currently with the London
Philharmonic) at Tanglewood.
The concert will also include performances by winners of the Music
Department’s Solo Competition: Jordan Ray, euphonium, will perform
movements 2 and 3 of Mozart's Concerto for Bassoon in B-flat major;
Jessica Reed and Jonathan Lopez will sing “Pa Pa Pa” from
Mozart’s opera
“The Magic Flute”; and Brittany Ridley, viola, will perform
“Trauermusik” (Music of Mourning) by Paul Hindemith. Ray,
Reed and
Ridley are music majors, and Lopez is an architecture major.
The program will conclude with Vaughan Williams’ “Serenade
to Music”
featuring PolyPhonics and guest soloists.
A retirement reception honoring Swanson will be held immediately after
the concert. Concert-goers planning to attend are asked to notify the
Music Department as soon as possible at
756-2406.
The Music Department is compiling anecdotes and well-wishes for a memory
book for Swanson. Those wanting to contribute can do so online at
http://music.calpoly.edu.
Swanson has had a tremendous impact – both on and off campus –
since
arriving at Cal Poly in 1967. With the exception of three years, he has
been chair of the Music Department since 1983.
He has received numerous awards, including the university’s President’s
Award for Contributions to the Arts of San Luis Obispo County. He was
a
member of the steering committee for design and construction of the
Performing Arts Center, a member of the board of directors of Cal Poly
Arts, and a member of the Advisory Board for the Performing Arts Center.
As a bass player, he has performed with many organizations and in
numerous festivals, including the Group for Contemporary Music in
Portland, the Peter Britt Festival and the San Luis Obispo Mozart
Festival. He is currently principal bass for the San Luis Obispo
Symphony.
He played a major role in the evolution of music in San Luis Obispo
County. He co-founded the San Luis Obispo Mozart Festival in 1970 and
conducted the San Luis Obispo Symphony from 1971 to 1984. He was also
instrumental in turning the Performing Arts Center into a reality.
“As a colleague and as chair of the department, Clif has left his
stamp
on every aspect of the program,” said Music Professor Craig Russell.
“During his years at the helm, our fledging music major program
– which
he helped conceive and implement – has flourished and grown into
one of
the most respected in the state.
“He is an artist, an inspired teacher, a wise leader, a ‘softy,’
a
listener, a Mozart expert, a kind and benevolent human being and a dear
friend. It already hurts to think how much we’ll miss him.”
Tickets to the concert are $6 to $11 and can be bought at the Performing
Arts Ticket Office from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and from 10 a.m. to
2
p.m. Saturdays.
The concert is sponsored by Cal Poly’s Music Department, College
of
Liberal Arts, and
Instructionally Related Activities program. For more information on the
concert or Swanson’s retirement reception, call the Music Department
at
756-2406.
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(NOTE TO EDITORS: A photo of Clif Swanson is attached.)