New performances have been announced for spring 2018 by the University of Alabama at Birmingham College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Music.
From top: Yakov Kasman, Sahun Hong, Mira Walker, UAB Concert Choir, Eamon Griffith, Gene Fambrough and David Levinthal @ AEIVA.Faculty and students in the department perform in UAB’s Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center and in the Mary Culp Hulsey Recital Hall. Many performances are free, and those that are ticketed help support the department’s programs.
The Department of Music student ensembles consist of about 100 music majors and approximately 100 more students from many other majors, representing the college and all schools at UAB, says Chair Patrick Evans, D.M. Also included are the annual trumpet and clarinet symposiums presented by faculty within the department for performers of all ages.
The UAB Piano Series brings the world’s finest pianists to Birmingham. Professor of Piano and Artist-in-Residence Yakov Kasman, a Van Cliburn medalist, directs the series. On Sunday, Jan. 28, the UAB Piano Series will present Sahun Hong. The third and final concert of the UAB Piano Series’ 2017-2018 season will be given by Kenneth Broberg on Sunday, April 8.
Continuing the Department of Music’s collaboration with Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts, the seventh Chamber Music @ AEIVA on Thursday, Feb. 22, will feature a concert in the gallery in conjunction with the exhibitions. The free Chamber Music @ AEIVA event includes a reception at 5 p.m., followed by a concert at 5:30 p.m., in UAB’s AEIVA, 1221 10th Ave. South. Enjoy free art, music and refreshments as the UAB Department of Music and AEIVA partner with the Birmingham Art Music Alliance to present a concert that connects chamber music with the photography of David Levinthal.
For the most current information about Department of Music events, call the Department of Music at 205-934-7376 or visit www.uab.edu/cas/music.
UAB Department of Music’s spring 2018 season:
Thursday, Jan. 4
UAB Faculty Brass Quintet “First Thursday Pops” concert, noon, UAB Hospital North Pavilion Atrium. Free.
Thursday, Jan. 11
UAB Faculty Jazz Quintet in concert, noon, UAB Hospital North Pavilion Atrium. Free.
Friday, Jan. 12
UAB Middle School Honor Choir concert, 4:30 p.m., UAB’s Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center. Free.
Friday, Jan. 26
UAB Music presents world premiere of “The Secret Exit,” a new song cycle by celebrated composer Lori Laitman, composed for soprano Kristine Hurst-Wajszczuk and clarinetist Denise Gainey, 5:40 p.m. in Temple Emanu-El, 2100 Highland Ave. South. The songs were set to poetry by Nobel Laureate Nelly Sachs, who escaped the Holocaust in 1940 and relocated to Sweden, where she lived for the rest of her life. “The Secret Exit” is a kind of sequel to Laitman’s cycle, “I Never Saw Another Butterfly,” which was set to poems written by children imprisoned at Terezin concentration camp during the Holocaust. The European premiere is slated for July 2018 in Belgium. The work is commissioned by UAB, through the Faculty Development Grant Program. Admission is free; parking is available in the parking garage behind the synagogue.
Sunday, Jan. 28
CANCELED: UAB Piano Series presents Sahun Hong, 4 p.m., UAB’s Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center, Reynolds-Kirschbaum Recital Hall. Praised for his “excellent combination of virtuosity and musicality” and “lots of clarity, confidence, and wisdom” (New York Concert Review), Hong brings his colorful style and riveting energy to the solo, chamber and concerto stage. On the program is Beethoven’s Sonata in F major, Op. 10 No. 2; Chopin’s Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor, Op. 35; Kirchner’s “Interlude II” (2003); and Schumann’s Symphonic Etudes, Op. 13. Tickets are $15, $5 for students through grade 12 and UAB employees; free to UAB students. Call 205-975-2787 for tickets.
Wednesday, Jan. 31
UAB Department of Music Faculty Potpourri Recital, 12:20 p.m., UAB’s Mary Culp Hulsey Recital Hall. Free.
Thursday, Feb. 1
UAB Faculty Brass Quintet “First Thursday Pops” concert, noon, UAB Hospital North Pavilion Atrium. Free.
Thursday, Feb. 1
UAB High School Honor Choir concert, 4:30 p.m., UAB’s Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center. Free.Thursday, Feb. 8UAB Faculty Jazz Quintet in concert, noon, UAB Hospital North Pavilion Atrium. Free.
Friday, Feb. 9-Saturday, Feb. 10
UAB Trumpet Symposium, presented by the UAB Department of Music and hosted by Associate Professor James Zingara, DMA, in UAB’s Mary Culp Hulsey Recital Hall. Events include concerts, clinics, guest artists, and an honors ensemble of middle and high school musicians. Call 205-934-2265 for more information.
Tuesday, Feb. 20
UAB Wind Symphony and Symphony Band in concert, conducted by Sean Murray and Cara Morantz, 7 p.m., UAB’s Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center. Free.
Wednesday, Feb. 21
UAB Student Recital, featuring advanced students in the Department of Music, with Chris Steele, pianist, 12:20 p.m., UAB’s Mary Culp Hulsey Recital Hall. Free.
Thursday, Feb. 22
UAB Music presents “Chamber Music @ AEIVA,” 5 p.m. gallery viewing and reception, 5:30 p.m. concert, in the lobby of the AEIVA, 1221 10th Ave. S. Enjoy free art, music and refreshments when the UAB Department of Music partners with the Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts and Birmingham Art Music Alliance to bring a concert that connects music with the photography of David Levinthal. The concert features faculty from the UAB Department of Music. Call the Department of Music at 205-934-7376 or visit www.uab.edu/cas/music.
Thursday, Feb. 22
CANCELED: UAB Faculty Recital, featuring Gene Fambrough, percussion, 7 p.m., UAB’s Mary Culp Hulsey Recital Hall. Free.
Wednesday, Feb. 28
UAB Student Recital, featuring advanced students in the Department of Music, with Chris Steele, pianist, 12:20 p.m., UAB’s Mary Culp Hulsey Recital Hall. Free.Thursday, March 1UAB Faculty Brass Quintet “First Thursday Pops” concert, noon, UAB Hospital North Pavilion Atrium. Free.
Saturday, March 3-Sunday, March 4
16th annual UAB Clarinet Symposium, presented by the UAB Department of Music, in UAB’s Mary Culp Hulsey Recital Hall and Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center. Events include workshops, recitals and a master class with Jessica Phillips, principal clarinetist, Metropolitan Opera orchestra. Call the Department of Music at 205-934-7376 or visit www.uab.edu/cas/music.
Sunday, March 4
16th annual UAB Clarinet Symposium finale concert, 2 p.m., UAB’s Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center. Free and open to the public. Call 205-975-0558 for more information.
Sunday, March 4
UAB Faculty Recital, featuring Kristine Hurst-Wajszczuk, soprano, and Yakov Kasman, pianist, 4 p.m., UAB’s Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center. In the spirit of the 17th-19th century tradition of “The Grand Tour,” a finishing school of sorts during which people of means traveled through Europe as they came of age, this recital is a potpourri of languages and styles. Explore the music of London, Paris, and Vienna, and finish with several stops in Italy and Spain. Free.
Monday, March 5
UAB Choirs in concert, 7 p.m., Southside Baptist Church, 11th Ave. South at 19th Street. Conducted by Tim Banks. Free.
CANCELED: Tuesday, March 6
UAB Music presents The Amicitia Duo, featuring Denise Gainey and Diane Barger, clarinets, and Chris Steele, piano, 7 p.m., UAB’s Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center. Barger is professor of clarinet at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Formed out of friendship, the Amicita Duo brings music for clarinet to a wide variety of audiences. Free.
Thursday, March 8
UAB Faculty Jazz Quintet in concert, noon, UAB Hospital North Pavilion Atrium. Free.
Friday, March 9
UAB Music presents a guest chamber recital by the UT-Chattanooga Chamber Trio, 12:20 p.m., in UAB’s Mary Culp Hulsey Recital Hall. The University of Tennessee-Chattanooga Chamber Trio includes faculty members Ronda Ford, flute, Erika Schafer, trumpet, and Jenny Parker, piano. The trio will perform works by Mozart, James Stephenson and Astor Piazzolla, as well as a newly commissioned piece, “Con Moto” by Michael Broder. Free.
Wednesday, March 21
UAB Music Guest Artist Recital featuring Shane Reeves, percussion, 7 p.m., UAB’s Mary Culp Hulsey Recital Hall. Free.
Saturday, March 24
UAB Music presents Zoë Willis, junior piano recital, 7 p.m., UAB’s Mary Culp Hulsey Recital Hall. Free.
Sunday, March 25
UAB Voice Studio Recitals, featuring students of Won Cho, Laura Doss, Patrick Evans and Kristine Hurst-Wajszczuk. Concerts at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m., UAB’s Mary Culp Hulsey Recital Hall. Free.
Tuesday, March 27
UAB Department of Music “Prism” concert, 7 p.m., UAB’s Alys Stephens Performing Center. A showcase concert of performances by the Department of Music faculty and student ensembles. Featured will be the Wind Ensemble, Concert Choir, Computer Music Ensemble, Trumpet Ensemble, Jazz Ensemble and smaller chamber groups, clarinet quartet, flute trio, and a six-hand piano arrangement of the overture to Mozart's “Marriage of Figaro.” Faculty performances will include voice, piano, clarinet, trumpet duets and a grand finale of Aaron Copland’s majestic “The Promise of Living." This wide range of musical performances is not to be missed. Tickets are $25, $15 for UAB employees; free to all students with valid ID. Call 205-975-2787 for tickets.
Wednesday, March 28
UAB Student Recital, featuring advanced students in the Department of Music, with Chris Steele, pianist, 12:20 p.m., UAB’s Mary Culp Hulsey Recital Hall. Free.
Tuesday, April 3
UAB Music presents two-piano concert, performed by Jacob Skiles and Mira Walker with Yakov Kasman, 7 p.m., UAB’s Mary Culp Hulsey Recital Hall. On the program are works by Robert Schumann and Alexander Scriabin. Free.
Wednesday, April 4
UAB Student Recital, featuring advanced students in the Department of Music, with Chris Steele, pianist, 12:20 p.m., UAB’s Mary Culp Hulsey Recital Hall. Free.
Wednesday, April 4
UAB Brass Chamber Ensembles in concert, 7 p.m., UAB’s Mary Culp Hulsey Recital Hall. Featuring Blazer Trumpets, Trombone Choir, Tuba and Euphonium Ensemble, and other brass ensembles. Free.
Thursday, April 5
UAB Faculty Brass Quintet “First Thursday Pops” concert, noon, UAB Hospital North Pavilion Atrium. Free.
Thursday, April 5
UAB Music presents Eamon Griffith, senior piano recital, 7 p.m., UAB’s Mary Culp Hulsey Recital Hall. In his four years at UAB Griffith has won all possible piano competitions and auditions on the state level, some several times. Professor of Piano Yakov Kasman says Griffith is a true musician, “very deep, sensitive and artistic. A real talent.” He has learned a huge amount of piano music while at UAB, including some of the most challenging in piano literature. Some of those pieces will be featured in his senior piano recital. Free.
Friday, April 6
UAB Computer Music Ensemble in concert, 7 p.m., UAB’s Mary Culp Hulsey Recital Hall. Featuring new works of electro-acoustic music and multimedia by student and faculty composers. This concert will focus on live and fixed surround sound music, or quadraphonic music. Students include music technology majors Ian Keel, Jaiden Faulkner and Davis Little. Directed by Matthew Bryant. Free.
Saturday, April 7
UAB Music presents Beau Boudreaux, senior voice recital, with Chris Steele, pianist, 7 p.m., UAB’s Mary Culp Hulsey Recital Hall. Free.
Sunday, April 8
UAB Piano Series presents Kenneth Broberg, 2017 Van Cliburn Silver medalist, 4 p.m., UAB’s Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center. Broberg has won first prizes at the Hastings and Dallas international piano competitions, in addition to medals at the Sydney, Seattle, New Orleans and Wideman competitions. Several of his performances at last year’s Sydney International Piano Competition were released on CD. He has performed as soloist with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Sydney Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Dallas Chamber Symphony and the Louisiana Philharmonic, among others. Broberg has had solo, chamber and concerto performances broadcast on NPR and ABC (Australia) radio. Tickets are $15, $5 for students through grade 12 and UAB employees; free to UAB students. Call 205-975-2787 for tickets.
Sunday, April 8
UAB Percussion Ensemble in concert, 7 p.m., UAB’s Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center. Directed by Gene Fambrough. Free.
Tuesday, April 10
UAB Guitar Ensemble and Jazz Combos in concert, directed by Maria Bitran, Carlos Pino and Steve Roberts, 7 p.m., UAB’s Mary Culp Hulsey Recital Hall. Free.
Thursday, April 12
UAB Faculty Jazz Quintet in concert, noon, UAB Hospital North Pavilion Atrium. Free.
Thursday, April 12
UAB Music presents Marta Piroșcă, senior flute recital, 7 p.m., UAB’s Mary Culp Hulsey Recital Hall. Free.
Friday, April 13
UAB Steel Band in concert, 7 p.m., UAB’s Mary Culp Hulsey Recital Hall. Directed by Gene Fambrough. Free.
Saturday, April 14
UAB Music Faculty Recital, featuring Won Cho, bass-baritone, and Chris Steele, pianist, 7 p.m., UAB’s Mary Culp Hulsey Recital Hall. Free.
Saturday, April 14
“British Song Tapestry: An Evening of British Art Songs from the Romantic Era,” UAB Music Faculty Recital, featuring Won Cho, bass-baritone, and Chris Steele, pianist, 7 p.m., UAB’s Mary Culp Hulsey Recital Hall. Featuring songs by British masters such as Ralph Vaughan Williams, Roger Quilter, Gerald Finzi and Michael Head. Free.
Sunday, April 15
UAB Jazz Ensemble in concert, 4 p.m., UAB’s Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center. Directed by Steve Roberts. Free.
Sunday, April 15
UAB Piano Studio and Piano Ensembles recital, featuring students of Yakov Kasman and Tatiana Kasman, 7 p.m., UAB’s Mary Culp Hulsey Recital Hall. Free.
Monday, April 16
UAB hosts the third annual Concert Band Invitational Festival, at UAB’s Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center. With concerts throughout the day and a finale performance by the UAB Wind Symphony. Free.Tuesday, April 17UAB Honors Recital, featuring winners of the 2018 Honors Recital Competition, 7 p.m., UAB’s Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center. Free.
Wednesday, April 18
UAB Opera presents opera scenes with student performers, 12:20 p.m., UAB’s Mary Culp Hulsey Recital Hall. Free.
Wednesday, April 18
UAB Music presents John S. Moore, guest artist recital, 7 p.m., UAB’s Mary Culp Hulsey Recital Hall. The program will feature music for saxophone alone and with virtual orchestra, and will include music by Bartok, Handel, Gershwin and UAB Associate Professor William Price, DMA. Moore has performed professionally as a member of THE TRIO, Trio Bel Canto, Aeolian Saxophone Quartet, The Saxophone Sinfonia, New York Chamber Saxophones and the New Sousa Band. He has performed in Australia, Canada, France, Japan, Kosovo, Poland, Puerto Rico, Scotland and the United States. Described by legendary saxophonist Sigurd Rascher as a “…first-rate musician with remarkable technical control…” he was, as a member of Trio Bel Canto, a Bronze medalist at the First Osaka International Chamber Music Competition and Festival held in Osaka, Japan and, as soloist, a semifinalist in the Concert Artists Guild International New York Competition. Moore teaches saxophone at Indiana University Southeast in New Albany, Indiana. Free.
Friday, April 20
UAB Choirs in concert, 7 p.m., Southside Baptist Church, 11th Avenue South at 19th Street. With guest conductor Ken Fulton. Free.
Thursday, May 3
UAB Faculty Brass Quintet “First Thursday Pops” concert, noon, UAB Hospital North Pavilion Atrium. Free.Tuesday, May 8UAB Rock Ensemble in concert, 7:30 p.m., UAB’s Alys Stephens performing Arts Center. Directed by Gene Fambrough. Free.
Saturday, May 19
Fourth annual UAB Piano Day, for pre-college students and piano teachers, 10 a.m. master-class with Yakov Kasman, and 2:30 p.m. Polyphonic Music Festival “Bach and Friends,” in UAB’s Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center. Both events are free. For more information, email tatianakasman@yahoo.com.