MEDIA CONTACT: Judy Moore at (847) 491-4819 or at jkm229@northwestern.edu

September 16, 2003

September and October 2003 Music Calendar

This fall, Northwestern University will launch its 2003-04 concert season Sept. 22 with a faculty musicale. Upcoming programs include a performance by Japan’s celebrated Nagaokakyo Ensemble (Sept. 28) featuring the Chicago-area debut of violinist Ryu Goto, younger brother of the celebrated violinist Midori. Classical pianist Christopher O’Riley will perform a program of his unique arrangements of music by the British pop group Radiohead (Oct. 11). The Homecoming Concert (Oct. 24) and a performance by the United States Marine Band (Oct. 31) is other fall highlights.

In addition, this year Northwestern welcomes Dean Toni-Marie Montgomery, who takes over the leadership of the School of Music after a successful tenure at the University of Kansas.

Events listed below will be held on Northwestern’s Evanston campus at either Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, 50 Arts Circle Drive; Lutkin Hall, 700 University Place; Trienens Hall, 2707 Ashland Ave.; or Regenstein Recital Hall, 60 Arts Circle Drive, as noted.

For more information, call the Pick-Staiger Concert Office at (847) 491-5441, or go to the Pick-Staiger Web site at www.northwestern.edu/pick-staiger. To order tickets by phone, call the Pick-Staiger Concert Office at (847) 467-4000.

SEPTEMBER 2003

Faculty Musicale, 7:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 22, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. Northwestern music faculty members will welcome new students and the 2003-04 academic year with a recital of solos and small ensembles. Admission is free.

Nagaokakyo Ensemble and Ryu Goto, violin, 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 28, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. The prize-winning Nagaokakyo ensemble, a 12-member string ensemble conducted by internationally acclaimed violinist and teacher Yuko Mori, will perform music by Mendelssohn, Mozart and others. Prodigy Ryu Goto, younger brother of the celebrated violinist Midori, will make his Chicago-area debut in selections that include Brahms’ Violin Sonata No. 3 in D Minor. Goto will be accompanied by pianist Evan Solomon. This concert is part of Chicago’s month-long festival celebrating 150 years of United States-Japan relations and is supported by the Japan American Society of Chicago and Chicago’s Consulate General of Japan. Single tickets are $21 for the general public; $17 for senior citizens and Northwestern faculty and staff; and $10 for full-time students.

OCTOBER 2003

Keyboard Conversations, “Timeless Treasures of Bach and Brahms,” 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 3, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. The 2003-04 Keyboard Conversations season will celebrate the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and explore his influence on later composers. Pianist Jeffrey Siegel opens his popular “concerts with commentary” yearlong subscription series by pairing Bach’s Toccata in D with Brahms’ “Variations on a Theme by Handel.” Single tickets are $23 for the general public; $21 for senior citizens and Northwestern faculty and staff; and $16 for full-time students. A series subscription to all four concerts is $87 for the general public; $79 for senior citizens and Northwestern faculty and staff; and $60 for full-time students.

Newberry Consort, “In the Court of Queen Elizabeth,” 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 5, Lutkin Hall. The concert, featuring soprano Ellen Hargis, countertenor Drew Minter and lutenist Jacob Heringman, commemorates the 400th anniversary of the death of Elizabeth I. It will feature a true English consort of flute, violin, viols, cittern, lute, bandore and voices performing music by William Byrd, Thomas Morley, John Dowland and others. Admission is $20 for the general public; $18 for senior citizens and Northwestern faculty and staff; and $10 for full-time students.

Tenor Madness, Masahito Sugihara, tenor saxophone, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 10, Regenstein Recital Hall. The concert will explore the possibilities of non-traditional musical expression. Performing solo and with prerecorded sound, tenor saxophonist Masahito Sugihara will draw on genres from classical to jazz, pop to funk, and even hip-hop. (A portion of this recital contains strong language; this event is not recommended for children or those who may find such language offensive). Single tickets are $8.50 for the general public; $7 for senior citizens and Northwestern faculty and staff; and $4 for full-time students.

Christopher O’Riley Plays Radiohead, 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 11, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. Celebrated classical pianist Christopher O’Riley, host of the popular classical music radio program “From the Top,” makes his Pick-Staiger debut in a unique concert featuring his arrangements of music by the British pop group Radiohead. Single tickets are $12 for the general public; $10 for senior citizens and Northwestern faculty and staff; and $7 for full-time students.

Michael Burritt, marimba, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 14, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. The program explores the diversity of rhythm and timbre in music by John Cage, Eric Sammut and Northwestern music faculty member and percussionist Michael Burritt, whose “Shadow Chasers” for marimba and percussion quartet will feature members of the Northwestern Percussion Ensemble. Joining Burritt in John Psathas’ “Matre’s Dance” for percussion and piano is faculty member Alan Chow. Single tickets are $8.50 for the general public; $7 for senior citizens and Northwestern faculty and staff; and $4 for full-time students.

New Music Northwestern, “A Tribute to Luciano Berio,” 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 17, Lutkin Hall. This commemorative program includes composer Luciano Berio’s Piano Sonata –- in its Chicago premiere performed by music faculty member and pianist Ursula Oppens –- as well as a solo and chamber music performed by Northwestern’s Contemporary Music Ensemble. Single tickets are $6.50 for the general public; $4.50 for senior citizens and Northwestern faculty and staff; and $3.50 for full-time students.

Kids Fare, “March with the Band,” 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 18, Trienens Hall. Youngsters aged 3 to 8 and their families and friends will have the opportunity to march with the Northwestern University Marching Band. Children are welcome to bring their favorite toy instruments. Single tickets are $5 for the general public; $4 for senior citizens and Northwestern faculty and staff; and $3 for full-time students and children.

Jazz Night I, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 18, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. Music faculty members Don Owens, Daniel J. Farris and Joel Spencer, will conduct a program of jazz works. Single tickets are $6.50 for the general public; $4.50 for senior citizens and Northwestern faculty and staff; and $3.50 for full-time students.

James Giles and Alan Chow, piano, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 22, Lutkin Hall. Two of Northwestern’s internationally acclaimed and award-winning faculty pianists appear together in a blockbuster recital for two pianos. Chow and Giles will perform works by Mozart, Schumann and Ravel as well as virtuosic arrangements of suites from Bernstein’s “West Side Story” and Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker.” Tickets are $8.50 for the general public; $7 for senior citizens and Northwestern faculty and staff; and $4 for full-time students.

Homecoming Concert, 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 24, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. Northwestern’s Symphonic Wind Ensemble will headline the School of Music’s annual celebration of Wildcat spirit. Program highlights include Shostakovich’s “Festive Overture” and Dana Wilson’s Concerto for Horn and Wind ensemble, written for and featuring Northwestern faculty member Gail Williams. Single tickets are $8.50 for the general public; $7 for senior citizens and Northwestern faculty and staff; and $4 for full-time students.

Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra,” Vive la France,” 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 25, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. School of Music faculty member Victor Yampolsky will conduct three French orchestral works including Honegger’s “Mouvement symphonique no. 3” (1933), Chausson’s “Poème” featuring Northwestern Concert Competition winner and solo violinist Ann Okagaito, and Berlioz’s “Symphonie fantastique,” a romantic portrait of an artist’s dreams and fantasies. The concert celebrates the bicentennial of the composer’s birth. Single tickets are $8.50 for the general public; $7 for senior citizens and Northwestern faculty and staff; and $4 for full-time students.

Symphonic Band, “American Songs,” 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 30, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. Evoking the depth and diversity of America’s musical history, this patriotic program includes Joseph Wilcox Jenkin’s “American Overture,” written for the U.S. Army Field Band, and William Schuman’s “New England Triptych,” based on a hymn tune by one of America’s first major musical figures, William Billings. Also on the program are Alan Fletcher’s “An American Song,” Donald Grantham’s “Southern Harmony,” and Charles Ives’ “Old Home Days.” Single tickets are $6.50 for the general public; $4.50 for senior citizens and Northwestern faculty and staff; and $3.50 for full-time students.

United States Marine Band, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 31, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. Col. Timothy W. Foley will conduct the men and women of “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band during a concert that will reflect the diversity of American music. The program will feature the band’s repertoire of patriotic, classical, pop and martial selections including the “Marines’ Hymn.” Admission is free, but tickets are required. Call (847) 467-4000 early for tickets with a limit of four per person. Doors will open at 6:45 p.m. To guarantee a seat, ticket holders must be seated by 7:15 p.m.