A free musicale featuring nine artists (Sept. 29), a performance by saxophonist Masahito Sugihara (Oct. 3), and a recital by guest oboist Nancy Ambrose King with faculty pianist Sylvia Wang (Oct. 20), are among the fall events presented by the faculty and alumni of Northwestern University’s Henry and Leigh Bienen School of Music.
Events listed below are open to the public and will be held on Northwestern’s Evanston campus at Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, 50 Arts Circle Drive or Lutkin Hall, 700 University Place, as noted below.
The Faculty Musicale 2009 at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 29, in Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, will feature nine Bienen School of Music faculty members. Performers are trumpeters Charles Geyer and Barbara Butler, percussionist She-e Wu, tenor Kurt R. Hansen, pianist Alan Chow, clarinetist Steven Cohen, bassist Peter Lloyd, hornist Gail Williams and soprano Nancy Gustafson. The program will feature works by Gottfried Reiche, J.S. Bach, Sergei Rachmaninov, Adam Guettel, John Stevens and Felix Mendelssohn. Admission is free.
Saxophonist Masahito Sugihara will be joined on stage by saxophonist Nathan Nabb and pianist Winston Choi at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3, in Lutkin Hall. All three artists are graduate-level alumni of Northwestern. Sugihara teaches saxophone and chamber music at Northwestern University, Roosevelt University and Trinity Christian College. He also is a member of the Amethyst Saxophone Quartet, Anaphora Ensemble, Ensemble Dal Niente and Northshore Saxophone Trio. Sugihara has performed with the Chicago Chamber Musicians, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Grant Park Symphony Orchestra and New York City Ballet. Nathan Nabb is assistant professor of saxophone at Morehead State University and performs regularly with the St. Louis Symphony, New World Symphony and IRIS Chamber Orchestra. Canadian pianist Winston Choi was laureate of the 2003 Honens International Piano Competition and winner of France’s 2002 Concours International de Piano 20e siecle d’Orleans. He is assistant professor and head of piano at Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts. The recital will include Introduction and Passacaglia by M. William Karlins and the world premiere of Mari Takano’s “LigAlien I” and “LigAlien IV.” Tickets are $7 for the general public; $5 for senior citizens and Northwestern faculty and staff; and $4 for students with valid identification.
Oboist Nancy Ambrose King will be accompanied by Bienen School of Music faculty pianist Sylvia Wang, at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 20, in Lutkin Hall. King is professor of oboe at the University of Michigan and the president of the International Double Reed Society. She has appeared as soloist with Russia’s St. Petersburg Philharmonic, the Janacek Philharmonic and the Tokyo Chamber Orchestra, in addition to performances at Weill Recital Hall, Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. Wang performs both as a soloist and collaboratively throughout the United States and abroad. Wang’s discography includes recordings of Debussy on the Cadenza Classics, Northeastern and CRI labels. She has been a winner and finalist in various competitions, including the Royal Overseas League Festival in London, an AVANTI award leading to a debut in London’s Purcell Room, the Yellow Springs Chamber Music Competition and the J.S. Bach International Piano Competition. Wang also is an Honorary Associate at the Royal Academy of Music in London. The performance will feature rarely heard gems by Karl Slavicky and Henri Dutilleux as well as works by Camille Saint-Saens and J.S. Bach. Tickets are $9 for the general public; $7 for senior citizens and Northwestern faculty and staff; and $5 for students with valid identification.