EVANSTON, Ill. --- Two live Henry and Leigh Bienen School of Music-related March webcasts can be viewed online free of charge. They will include a clarinet master class led by Northwestern University alumnus Mark Nuccio and a webcast of “Mando Magnificat,” a concert featuring world-renowned mandolin players Sam Bush, Mike Marshall and Caterina Lichtenberg.

The Bienen School will stream the winter 2009 webcasts from Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, Evanston campus. The starting times of all the listed events are in Central Standard Time (CST).

Links to the webcasts will be made available online approximately 10 minutes prior to the starting time of each event. Viewers will need the latest version of the RealPlayer media player. For links to the webcasts or more information on the webcasts, as well as the technical requirements for viewing them, visit http://www.pickstaiger.org/index.php/webcasts.

Northwestern alumnus Mark Nuccio will present a clarinet master class at 9:30 a.m. (CST) Tuesday, March 10. During the master class, he will coach preselected clarinet students from the Bienen School of Music. Nuccio has been the associate principal and solo E-flat clarinetist with the New York Philharmonic since 1999. He has worked with distinguished conductors, including Lorin Maazel, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti, Claudio Abbado and Andre Previn. Nuccio has toured and recorded worldwide and is featured in several movie soundtracks, including “Intolerable Cruelty” and “The Manchurian Candidate.” In addition to his work as a performer, he serves on the faculty of the Manhattan School of Music.

Several renowned mandolinists will perform during the “Mando Magnificat” concert webcast at 7:30 p.m. (CST) Saturday, March 7. This celebration of the enduring versatility of the mandolin will feature guest artists Mike Marshall & Big Trio, Sam Bush, Caterina Lichtenberg, Don Stiernberg, and the Milwaukee Mandolin Orchestra with guitarist Mirko Schrader, pianist Larry Harris and bassist Jim Cox. Their eclectic program will include classical, jazz, new acoustic, Americana, blues and orchestral music. This is the first of nine concerts that are part of Pick-Staiger’s 2009 Spring Festival, “Collaboration Exultation: A Festival of Musical Connections” that begins March 7 and runs through April 11.

The webcast programming is subject to change. Check the Pick-Staiger Web site for updates.

For more information or to purchase tickets to these events, visit thePick-Staiger Web site or phone (847) 467-4000.