Spring Band Concert, April 28

Ashland University Department of Music presents its final band concert of the 2018-2019 academic year on Sunday, April 28 at 7:30 p.m. in Hugo Young Theatre with the annual Spring Band Concert. Admission to the concert is free and open to all.

The Ashland Area Community Concert Band (AACCB) under the direction of Leonard Salvo, and the Ashland University Symphonic Band directed by Joseph Lewis, Jr., will perform a program themed "At Home and Abroad" as it features compositions from various cultures from American marches and a southern hymn to English and Korean folk songs as well as a fiesta. The event will also recognize the senior AU Band members for their dedication and contribution to the AU Band program.

Although the AACCB will perform Ralph Vaughan Williams' Folk Songs from Somerset which is the last movement of his "English Folk Song Suite" -- the remaining pieces are American based including Chorale and Shaker Dance with variations of the well-known Shaker hymn "Simple Gifts;" Samuel Hazo's Southern Hymn; and American We, one of Henry Filmore's most well-known marches. Guest conductor Dave Wolbert will lead the band in a performance of selections from Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story.

The University Symphonic Band will present an international program beginning with Clifton Williams Latin themed Symphonic Dance No. 3, Fiesta followed by Williams' Sea Songs, W. Francis McBeth's Israel influenced Kaddish and John Barnes Chance's Variations on a Korean Folk Song. The concert will continue with a performance of Pavel Tschesnekoff's Salvation is Created dedicated to the memory of former AU Director of Bands Mr. Gary Ciulla. Professor Emeritus Salvo will then be the guest conductor for Julius Fucik's The Florentiner, Grande Marcia Italiana, and the program will conclude with Olympiada by Hazo.

Spring Choral Concert, April 28

The Ashland University Choir, Chamber Singers and Women's Chorus present their final choral concert of the 2018-2019 academic year on Sunday, April 28 at 4 p.m. in the Jack and Deb Miller Chapel. From Mozart to the Beatles and Pentatonix, the concert program celebrates the coming of spring and offers a preview of the University Choir's upcoming tour to Chicago. The concert is free and open to the public.

Dr. Rowland Blackley, Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities, will conduct the University Choir in a performance of Benjamin Britten's Time from “Choral Dance from Gloriana,” along with the Kenyan folk song Wana Baraka, Mendelssohn's The Hundredth Psalm and Jack Halloran's arrangement of Witness.

The Chamber Singers, also directed by Dr. Blackley, will perform Penny Lane (as performed by the King's Singers), Ysaye M. Barnwell's Wanting Memories, I Had No Time to Hate by Nathan Howe with poetry by Emily Dickinson, and Swingle's arrangement of Mozart's Eine kleine Nachtmusik.

Directed by Ashland University alumna Julie Strebler-Renner and accompanied by Susan Gregg, the Women's chorus' selections include Brian Tate's Hold Me, Rock Me; Light in the Hallway (as performed by the Pentatonix); the traditional Irish folk song Bandyrowe; and Yonder Come Day, a traditional Georgia Sea Islands melody.

Fairy Tales, Comedy & Tragedy at 2019 Opera Scenes

Every spring the Ashland University Department of Music offers audience members a chance to experience live opera through a variety of scenes from a collection of well-known titles. In 2019, the two evenings of opera scenes will be performed on Thursday, April 25 and Friday, April 26 at 7:30 p.m. in the intimate Studio Theatre at Ashland University. The performances are free and open to the public.

The variety of this year's scenes range from a fairy tale to comedies and a tragedy with many of them featuring story lines of love and romance. One similarity among all four of the operas is the idea of hidden and mistaken identities or masks. Also, all four of these operas are written by well-known composers (Mozart, Verdi, Strauss, and Humperdinck) and their titles (The Marriage of Figaro, La traviata, Die Fledermaus, Hansel and Gretel, respectively) are cornerstones of the opera world.

Based on the Grimm Brothers' fairy tale, Engelbert Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel is associated with the holidays and is often performed around Christmas. The Ashland performance will feature the opening scene where Hansel and Gretel are at their home and Hansel becomes very hungry. We all know what that leads to.

Several songs will be performed from Johann Strauss' Die Fledermaus (aka The Revenge of the Bat) which is a story of mistaken identities, flirtations at a masked ball, elegant frivolities and confusions of all kinds. Our cast will perform "The Drinking Song" duet, Orlovsky’s aria, "Meir Herr Marquis" and "Sing to Love."

W. A. Mozart's comic opera The Marriage of Figaro tells the story of how the servants, Figaro and Susanna, taught their employer a lesson in fidelity and then succeeded in getting married. Selections from this comedy will include "Porgi Amor," "Voi che sapete" and "Sull’aria."

The most serious of the evenings' opera scenes will come from Giuseppe Verdi's tragedy, La traviata (The Fallen Women). However, the song selection for Ashland's opera scenes is one of the lighter moments of the story as the ensemble performs "The Brindisi," the opera's famous drinking song and one of the best-known opera melodies.

Under the direction of Sandra Ross and accompaniment by pianist Deb Logan, this annual event features vocal performances from student singers. This year's cast includes Drew Berlin (Barberton), Kendra Garver (Shreve), Maggie George (Independence), Mia Kardotzke (Clyde), Maya Rickard (Wooster), Dave Tomlinson (Cleveland) and Rebecca Young (Sherwood, Oregon).

Brass, Jazz, String & Woodwind Ensembles Recital, Apr. 23

On Tuesday, Apr. 23 at 8 p.m. in the Elizabeth Pastor Recital Hall, several student ensembles will perform in a joint recital including a jazz combo, woodwind, brass and string ensembles under the direction of Dr. Thomas Reed, Joseph Lewis, Jr., and Jane Reed, respectively. The concert is free and open to the public.

Jazz at the Nest Returns Apr. 16

On Tuesday, Apr. 16 at 7:30 p.m. in the Eagles Nest located in the Hawkins-Conard Student Center, the Ashland University Jazz Orchestra (AUJO) will perform in a club-like atmosphere where audience members can grab a snack, enjoy a beverage and relax to the live music. 

The Monday Madness Jazz Combo will provide pre-concert music beginning at 7 p.m. with Michaela Wood (flute), Jared Metz (saxophone), Alex Kwan (piano), Torin Dunn (guitar), and Molly Willard (drums).

AUJO's portion of the program will offer an eclectic mix of old and new arrangements including Belly Roll by Quincy Jones, Wind Machine by Sammy Nestico, The Chicken by Pee Wee Ellis, Backyard Blues by Matt Harris, Big Dipper by Thad Jones and many more.

The AUJO roster includes saxophonists Michael Spalding, Jacob Moses, Lauren DeBracy, Erika Wright and Ariane Hill; Nick Lawwill, Branden Barber, Jennifer Wigton and Nathan Roblin on trumpet; trombonists Satch Garlock, Frank Stanek, Eric Watts and Emily Schordock on horn; while the rhythm section consists of Alex Trotter on piano, Emily Ebert on bass, Molly Willard on drums and vocalist Gracie Fumic

Performers for Spring 2019 Honors Recital Announced

The best of Spring 2019 will be showcased at the Spring 2019 Honors Recital on Monday, Apr. 15 at 7:30 p.m. in the Elizabeth Pastor Recital Hall. Students who accomplished exceptional musical work during the semester will showcase their vocal and instrumental talents as selected by their private teachers.

Performers will include vocalists Michael Cowan, Maggie George, Alli Lange, Maya Rickard and Rebecca Young; while instrumentalists are Kailyn Buyok (violin), Ariane Hill (flute), Jed McFadden (piano), Jacob Moses (clarinet), Christine Shelton (piano), and Eric Watts (composer, tuba).