April 12, 2007

Music faculty take stage

Music lovers will have the opportunity to experience the talents of some School of Music faculty this spring during two  recitals and an outdoor concert that will be held Memorial Day weekend in downtown Chicago’s Millennium Park.

J. Lawrie Bloom, assistant professor of clarinet at Northwestern and a Chicago Symphony Orchestra member, will present a program of duets at 3 p.m. Sunday, April 15, in Lutkin Hall. His faculty recital, titled “Dialogues,” will explore musical communication in its purest form. It will feature Bloom playing the bass clarinet solo as well as with friends and colleagues, including flutist Jennifer Gunn, baritone saxophonist Masahito Sugihara, violist Catherine Brubaker and harpist Kara Bershad. Works on the program include Robert Muczynski’s “Duos,” Rebecca Clarke’s “Prelude,” “Allegro” and “Pastoral” for Clarinet and Viola, Jean-Michel Damase’s “Sonate pour clarinette et harpe” and Lee Hyla’s “We Speak Etruscan.”

Northwestern horn professor Gail Williams has performed and taught master classes throughout North America as well as in Europe and Asia. She will perform works by Doug Hill and Steven Stucky with her colleagues at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 25, in Lutkin Hall. Williams will be joined on stage by oboist Robert Morgan, clarinetist Larry Combs, Music faculty percussionist Michael Burritt and harpsichordist David Schrader. A founding member of the Chicago Chamber Musicians and Summit Brass, Williams was the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s associate principal horn for 14 years and has appeared with major orchestras and chamber ensembles. She also has recorded two solo compact discs.

This Memorial Day weekend, Music faculty, students and special guest artists will perform at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, May 27, during a Monster Percussion Concert at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park. This kaleidoscope of melodies and rhythms will include works from the famous 1933 Chicago World’s Fair concert by Clair Musser’s celebrated marimba orchestra. To purchase tickets, call (847) 467-4000 or go to www.pickstaiger.com.