May 16, 2005
Contact: Michele Abba
Cal Poly Music Department
(805) 756-2406
Cal Poly Spring Concert To Feature Music of Eric Ewazen
SAN LUIS OBISPO – Two Cal Poly student-musician groups and two guest ensembles will perform “The Extraordinary Music of Eric Ewazen” at their spring concert at 8 p.m. Saturday, June 4, in Harman Hall in the Performing Arts Center's Christopher Cohan Center.
The Cal Poly Wind Orchestra, Cal Poly Wind Ensemble, Crown City Brass and SummerWinds will perform, and composer Ewazen will be on hand to give a description of each piece.
Concertgoers can expect “powerhouse percussion, wondrous woodwinds and bold brass,” said Cal Poly Music Professor and William Johnson, conductor of the university’s Wind Orchestra and Wind Ensemble. “The Cal Poly Wind Orchestra and Wind Ensemble will join forces with Crown City Brass and SummerWinds to bring an entire concert of the music of Eric Ewazen, one of America’s most sought-after composers.”
Ewazen will travel to San Luis Obispo a few days before the concert to work with the musicians and, on the night of the concert, will provide commentary to the audience about each selection. Ewazen is on the faculty of the Juilliard School and is a lecturer for the New York Philharmonic’s Musical Encounters Series.
A highlight of the program will be Ewazen’s “Shadowcatcher,” performed by Crown City Brass with the Cal Poly Wind Ensemble.
Crown City Brass is known for both its exuberant technique and soft musical sensitivity, said Johnson. Formed in Los Angeles in 1992, Crown City Brass members include “top brass” players Rob Frear, trumpet; Marty Fenton Frear, trumpet; Sarah Bach, horn; Andy Malloy, trombone; and John Rojak, bass trombone.
SummerWinds is made up of members of the wind section of the San Luis Symphony: Martha Uhey, flute; Linda Ashworth, oboe; Caroline Tobin, clarinet; Jennifer Dodson, horn; and Diana Sheridan, bassoon. SummerWinds will perform Ewazen’s “Roaring Fork for Wind Instruments.” The movements include “Whitewater Rapids” (Maroon Creek); “Columbines” (Snowmass Lake); and “At The Summit” (Buckskin Pass).
Additional musical highlights will include “A Western Fanfare
for Brass Choir,” “Legacy, A Symphony for Wind Ensemble,”
“A Hymn for the Lost and the Living (In Memoriam 9-11-01).”
Rudolfas Budginas, a concert pianist and conductor who also teaches
music at Cal Poly and Cuesta College, will serve as guest conductor
during the Wind Orchestra’s performance of Ewazen’s
“Celtic Hymns and Dances.”
“Ewazen’s music speaks to the heart and, like Aaron Copland, his works have a strong American accent and appeal. This will be a very special evening for all Central Coast music lovers,” Johnson said.
The concert is sponsored by Cal Poly’s College of Liberal Arts, the Music Department and Instructionally Related Activities program. Tickets are $7 to $16 and can be bought at the Performing Arts Ticket Office 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays. To order tickets by phone, call (805) 756-2787 (756-ARTS)
For more information, call the Music Department at 756-2607.
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