Performances by students, faculty and guest artists have been announced by the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Department of Music.
The Department of Music, in the UAB College of Arts and Sciences, presents recitals and concerts each fall and spring semester — and many of the performances are free and open to the public.
Purchase tickets now for the UAB Piano Series featuring José Ramón Mendez performing a program of works by Chopin, Granados and Albeniz at 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 29. Fall highlights also include Gospel Symphony Celebration at 7 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 19. Gospel legend Donald Lawrence will join conductor and University Professor of Music Henry Panion III, Ph.D., and the Alabama Symphony Orchestra for a concert of Lawrence’s classic gospel hits, arranged and orchestrated specifically for this concert and PBS television recording. Christmas at the Alys on Tuesday, Nov. 28, kicks off the holiday season with classic favorites.
Most performances are held in the Hulsey Center for the Arts’ Mary Culp Hulsey Recital Hall and UAB’s Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center. For the latest information about performances, check the UAB Campus Calendar, contact the UAB Department of Music at 205-934-7376 or visit uab.edu/music.
UAB Concert ChoirWednesday, Sept. 27
Department of Music faculty noontime concert, 12:20-1:10 p.m., Hulsey Recital Hall. Featuring Denise Gainey, DMA, clarinet; James Zingara, DMA, trumpet; Lisa Wienhold, flute; Reginald Jackson, Ph.D., piano and saxophone; Chris Steele, DMA, piano; Lara Wilson, DMA, and Elizabeth Fisher, DMA, mezzo-sopranos; Won Cho, DMA, bass; William Price, DMA, composer; Patrick Evans, D.M., baritone; and Yakov Kasman, DMA, piano. Free.
Thursday, Oct. 5
UAB Department of Music Faculty Recital, James Zingara, trumpet, 7 p.m., Hulsey Recital Hall. The UAB Department of Music presents “Orchestral Dreams” with James Zingara, DMA, trumpet, and Chris Steele, DMA, piano. This concert will feature transcriptions of solo pieces from the orchestral and repertoire by Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev, Donizetti and Stravinsky, concluding with a trumpet and piano transcription of the complete “Pictures at an Exhibition” by Mussorgsky/Ravel. Free.
Tuesday, Oct. 10
UAB Department of Music Wind Symphony and Symphony Band concert, 7 p.m., UAB’s Alys Stephens Center, Jemison Concert Hall. This concert will feature new and exciting music of the modern wind band repertoire. Sean Murray, Ph.D., and Cara Morantz, Ed.D., directors. Free.
Thursday, Oct. 12
Chamber Music @ AEIVA, 5:30 p.m. reception, 6 p.m. concert, in UAB’s Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts. Featuring music in response to artwork on exhibition by Jacqueline Surdell and Michael Dixon. Chamber Music @ AEIVA presents the finest chamber music in an engaging, inviting environment. Free.
Thursday, Oct. 19
Composer forum and lecture: Jemison Visiting Professor of the Humanities David L. Brunner, 7 p.m., Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts. David L. Brunner, professor emeritus at the University of Central Florida, is known worldwide as a conductor and composer, educator and speaker. The UAB Concert Choir will feature one of his best known works, “O Music,” commissioned by UAB Associate Professor Jeff W. Reynolds, DMA, at a free concert 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 20. Free.
Friday, Oct. 20
UAB Department of Music Fall Choral Collage Concert, 7 p.m., Highlands United Methodist Church, Birmingham. Featuring the UAB Concert Choir, Chamber Singers and Gospel Choir. Brian Kittredge, DMA, Elizabeth Fisher, DMA, and Reginald Jackson, Ph.D., directors. Featuring "O Music," written by Jemison Visiting Professor of the Humanities David L. Brunner. Free.
José Ramón MendezSunday, Oct. 29
UAB Department of Music Piano Series featuring José Ramón Mendez, 4 p.m., UAB’s Alys Stephens Center, Reynolds-Kirschbaum Concert Hall. The program includes works by Chopin, Granados and Albeniz. Described as “an artist with a polished sound and tremendous constructive power” and hailed by the Hoja del Lunes de Madrid, as “the Spanish pianist of his generation,” Mendez is one of the most exciting Spanish pianists of today. Recent performances include Chopin’s first piano concerto with the Cuban National Symphony Orchestra and Manuel de Falla’s “Nights in the Gardens of Spain” with the Nittany Valley Symphony, as well as numerous solo and chamber music performances in the United States, Europe and Asia. Tickets are $15, $5 for students through grade 12 and UAB employees, and free to UAB students. For tickets, call 205-975-2787 or visit AlysStephens.org.
Thursday, Nov. 2
UAB Department of Music Piano Studio concert, 7 p.m., Hulsey Recital Hall. Yakov Kasman, DMA, director. Free.
Friday, Nov. 3
UAB Opera presents “The Telephone” and “Gallantry,” 7 p.m. Hulsey Recital Hall. UAB Opera presents two comic one-act operas, the first by Gian-Carlo Menotti and the second by Douglas Moore. Directed by Lara Wilson, DMA, with musical direction by Patrick Evans, D.M., and Chris Steele, DMA, piano. Free.
Saturday, Nov. 4
UAB Opera presents “The Telephone” and “Gallantry,” 2 p.m., Hulsey Recital Hall. UAB Opera presents two comic, one-act operas, the first by Gian-Carlo Menotti and the second by Douglas Moore. Directed by Lara Wilson, with musical direction by Patrick Evans, D.M., and Chris Steele, DMA, piano. Free.
Monday, Nov. 6
UAB Department of Music Percussion Ensemble concert, 7 p.m., UAB’s Alys Stephens Center, Jemison Concert Hall. Gene Fambrough, DMA, director. Free.
Wednesday, Nov. 8
UAB Department of Music Fall Brass Ensembles concert, 7 p.m., Hulsey Recital Hall. Featuring the department’s brass chamber groups, including Trumpet Ensembles I and II, Horn Choir, Trombone Choir, Tuba-Euphonium Ensemble, and the Steel City Brass Quintet. Free.
Donald LawrenceSunday, Nov. 12
UAB Department of Music Piano Studio/Piano Ensembles concert, 5 p.m., Hulsey Recital Hall. Yakov Kasman, DMA, and Tatiana Kasman, directors. Free.
Sunday, Nov. 12
A Gospel Symphony Celebration, 7 p.m., UAB’s Alys Stephens Center, Jemison Concert Hall. Gospel legend Donald Lawrence joins conductor Henry Panion III, Ph.D., and the Alabama Symphony Orchestra in this presentation of some of the star’s most classic gospel hits, arranged and orchestrated specifically for this concert and PBS television recording. With the UAB Gospel Choir and the Miles College Choir, Reginald Jackson, Ph.D., and Valerie R. Harris, directors. Also featured are “Britain’s Got Talent” runner-up Vox Fortura. Tickets are $38, $54 and $68, with $24 tickets for Miles College and UAB employees and $10 tickets for students.
Tuesday, Nov. 14
UAB Department of Music Jazz Combos and Guitar Ensembles in concert, 7 p.m., Hulsey Recital Hall. Steve Roberts, DMA, and Carlos Pino, directors. Free.
UAB Jazz Ensemble
Wednesday, Nov. 15
UAB Computer Music Ensemble concert, 7 p.m., Hulsey Recital Hall. Matthew Scott Phillips, DMA, director. Free.
Thursday, Nov. 16
UAB Department of Music Jazz Ensemble concert, 7:30 p.m., UAB’s Alys Stephens Center, Sirote Theatre. Steve Roberts, DMA, director. Free.
Christmas at the AlysTuesday, Nov. 28
UAB Department of Music Christmas at the Alys concert, 7 p.m., UAB’s Alys Stephens Center, Jemison Concert Hall. Featuring UAB Choral Ensembles and high school choirs from the Greater Birmingham area performing Christmas classics. Tickets are $8; free for UAB students and senior citizens. Call 205-975-2787 or visit AlysStephens.org.