March 25, 2005
Contact: Michele Abba
(805) 756-2406
http://music.calpoly.edu
Music from 'Fantasia' to be Featured in Open House Concert April 16
SAN LUIS OBISPO -- Two Cal Poly Music ensembles will pay tribute to Walt Disney's film "Fantasia" by performing the movie's most familiar musical highlights at the Open House Concert Saturday, April 16.
The Cal Poly Symphony, the Cal Poly Wind Ensemble and the University Jazz Band #1 will perform at 8 p.m. in Harman Hall in the Performing Arts Center.
In keeping with this year's Open House theme, "Oceans of Opportunity," the Music Department will give the public and Open House visitors an opportunity to hear some of Cal Poly's finest student-musicians.
Nearly 1,000 people were involved in the 1937 Disney impressionistic experiment that wedded state-of-the-art animation with classical music, according to Cal Poly Music Professor William Johnson. "Fantasia" first appeared in theaters in 1940. "Even after 65 years and a 60th anniversary recreation in 2000, the film and its music are timeless," Johnson said.
The Cal Poly Symphony, known for its versatility in performing music written for both the large and small orchestra, from baroque to contemporary, will perform Modest Mussorgsky's "Night on Bald Mountain." This powerful work was chosen because it demonstrates the depth and breadth of the orchestra, said Cal Poly Symphony Director and Music Professor David Arrivee.
The University Jazz Band #1, directed by Music Professor Paul Rinzler, will play "Nth Degree" by Tim McMillen, "Duet" by Neal Hefti, and "Rompe Cabezas" by Matt Harris.
The University Jazz Band #1 combines the professionalism of a working big band with the academic rigor of cutting-edge, big-band repertoire, Rinzler said. The group has performed at the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee -- the world's largest jazz festival -- the San Jose Jazz Society's Sunday jazz series, and the Morro Bay Jazz Festival. Last July the band went on a concert tour of China, performing in Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou.
The Open House concert will conclude with the Cal Poly Wind Ensemble,
conducted by Music Professor William Johnson, performing two of
the most famous pieces from the "Fantasia" score: Johann
Sebastian Bach's "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor," and Amilcare
Ponchielli's "Dance of the Hours." In addition, the ensemble
will perform Michael Daugherty's "Bells for Stokowski"
in a special tribute to Leopold Stokowski, the film's musical conductor.
The Wind Ensemble enjoys a national as well as international reputation for musical excellence, Johnson said. The group has performed in such prestigious venues as Carnegie Hall; the Sydney Opera House; the Michael Fowler Center in Wellington, New Zealand; Beethoven Hall in Tokyo; and at various concert halls in Europe.
Tickets to the Open House Concert are $9 to $18 and can be bought at the Performing Arts Ticket Office 10 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturdays. To order by phone, call SLO-ARTS (756-2787); to order by fax, dial 756-6088.
The concert is sponsored by Cal Poly's College of Liberal Arts, Music Department and Instructionally Related Activities program. For more information, call the Music Department at 756-2406.
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