38TH ANNUAL MADRIGAL FEASTE GOES ON SALE SEP. 23

2012 Madrigal Players

Tickets for the 38th Annual Madrigal Feaste go on sale to the public on Monday, September 23 at 12 p.m.  Patrons are reminded that this is a very popular event and the box office will be incredibly busy.  For immediate service, the box office recommends that patrons come to the box office window located in the lobby of Hugo Young Theatre at the corner of College Avenue and Grant Street or order online at www.ashland.edu/tickets (additional fees apply for online orders).  Patrons can also call the box office at 419.289.5125, but phone lines are expected to be busy. 

Ashland University Department of Music produces the annual Madrigal Feaste which is slated for Wednesday through Sunday, November 20 – November 24.  All performances begin at 6:30 PM in Redwood Hall.

Directed by Dr. Rowland Blackley, director of choral activities, the Madrigal Feaste is a dinner theater based in sixteenth-century England with constant entertainment provided throughout the evening.  The Ashland University Chamber Singers perform ceremonial music, Christmas carols and madrigals while the Madrigal Players present a new comedic play along with improvisational theatrics.  Fanfare trumpeters, the Court Jester and Butler round out the cast. Performer costumes are designed as authentic reproductions of period apparel; and the four-course meal culminates in flaming bread pudding.

The 2013 Madrigal Feaste Chamber Singers feature Derek Jackenheimer as the King and Erin Lingenfelter as the Queen along with their court including Sam Diemer, Deric Dove, Christopher Goffos, DR Haught, Emily Jeppesen, Grace Keller, Jacob Markley, Christian Neely, Courtney Patton, Jacob Poiner, Andrew Shaffer, Emily Springer, Katie Stone, Caleb Stout and Alex VanScoy. Led by Hilary Rheinheimer as the Jester, the Madrigal Players are Mason Adams, Kim Lennox, Zach Lindesmith, Zach Manthey and De’Andre Peterson.

Tickets for the event are $26 for adults; $15 for children under 12; and $23 for groups of 10 or more.  A special $11 ticket is available to Ashland University students for the Wednesday performance only.  A vegetarian option is available upon request at the time of ticket purchase. Due to preparation of meals, tickets are not available at the door.

DALCROZE WORKSHOPS BEGIN THIS SATURDAY, SEP. 7

Ashland University Department of Music and the Ohio Chapter of the Dalcroze Society of America is offering several Dalcroze workshops throughout the year beginning this Saturday, September 7. 

 

September 7       Terry Boyarsky, Teaching Artist for Young Audiences

                             "Dalcroze and Quick Reaction Exercises”

January 11          Dr. Marla Butke, Dr. Ron Blackley, Ashland University
                             "Improving Aural Skills Through Eurhythmics”
 

April 12               Larry Doebler, ret. Director, Choral Activities, Ithaca College
                             “Connecting to the Music Through Dalcroze Eurhythmics”
                             featuring a demonstration choir

COST:  $95 for all 3 workshops and membership to DSA OR
               $25 for each individual workshop OR             
               $10 for each individual workshop – college students

GRADUATE CREDIT: There is an additional fee of $200 for 1 hour of graduate credit (due on April 12/payable to Ashland University). Must attend all 3 workshops plus reflection session on September 7, 1:00-1:30 pm. Assignments: Reflection papers and 2 lesson plans

Walk-ins are welcome, but registration can be submitted in advance to:

Ohio Chapter of DSA, c/o Karen Dhyanchand,
7464 Angel Dr, North Canton, OH 44720.  

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:

Marla Butke, Ph. D., Associate Professor of Music, Ashland University
Dalcroze Society of America Ohio Chapter President

Dalcroze Certified Teacher

Dalcroze Society of America Research Chair
Cell 614-581-4746 • mbutke@ashland.edu

FALL CONCERTS BEGIN WITH AU MARCHING BAND AND IRON TOYS

The Department of Music at Ashland University begins its fall semester concerts at the Ashland County Fair with the University Marching Band leading the Parade of Bands at the grandstand on Sunday, September 15 at 2:00 p.m. under the baton of Leonard Salvo, Director of Bands.

Also in September, the Department of Music is pleased to present a guest artist recital with the Iron Toys saxophone and woodwind quartet on Monday, September 23, 7:30 p.m. in the Elizabeth Pastor Recital Hall.  Founded in 2004 by Tom Reed, Rich Shanklin, George Shernit and Howie Smith, the quartet performs a diverse repertoire blending classical, jazz and avant-garde styles. Because of the doubling skills of its members, the group has over twenty instruments available for any given performance. This concert is free and open to the public.

 

For more information about the music department and its performances, visit the Web site at www.ashland.edu/music or contact Tricia Applegate, coordinator of performing arts publicity and events, at 419-289-5950 or tapplega@ashland.edu. Also available is the College of Arts & Sciences 2013-2014 ARTS GUIDE offering a comprehensive listing of the year's music, theatre, Spectrum and Coburn Gallery events.

ASHLAND AREA CHORUS AND COMMUNITY CONCERT BAND ANNOUNCE FALL SCHEDULES

Two community music ensembles at Ashland University, Ashland Area Chorus (AAC) and Ashland Area Community Concert Band (AACCB) announce their fall schedules including rehearsals, concerts and membership requirements.  Beginning August 19, Ashland Area Chorus rehearsals are held on Monday evenings from 7-8:45 p.m. in Room 242 of the Center for the Arts (formerly the Arts and Humanities building). Initially meeting on Tuesday, September 3, the Community Band rehearses on Tuesday evenings from 7:30-9 p.m. in the Center for the Arts' Elizabeth Pastor Recital Hall.

Entering its sixteenth season, the Ashland Area Chorus is a non-auditioned mixed choir of about 65 singers from Ashland, Richland, Medina, Wayne, Holmes and Crawford Counties.  The fall semester’s repertoire will include pieces by Duruflé, Rachmaninoff and Rutter as well as a new arrangement of a traditional American hymn commissioned for the Chorus.  The Chorus will participate in the Ashland University fall concert, October 13, and the annual Festival of Lights on December 8. For membership, previous choral experience is helpful and encouraged. 

The Ashland Area Community Concert Band begins its twenty-first season and is for those that loved playing in band in high school or college and want the opportunity to play again. Performances for the ensemble this fall include a concert at the Ashland County Fair on Tuesday, September 17, and a performance at the University with the Ashland University Concert Band on Saturday, December 7. Requirements for membership are the ability to play a wind or percussion instrument (no need to be a virtuoso); an interest in playing for enjoyment; desire to play a wide variety of music for the public; an interest in meeting new people who share a common interest and availability for rehearsals on Tuesday evenings.

Membership to AAC and AACCB is open to anyone.  However, students still in high school must have permission by the ensemble's director.  A nominal membership fee of $25 is requested and payable by the fourth week of rehearsals to continue participation in either ensemble for the semester. The membership fee is payable through the Ashland University Box Office at 419.289.5125 or online at www.ashland.edu/music. 

 

For further information, contact the Chorus’ new conductor Libby Slade at eslade@ashland.edu or (419) 685-5460; or Leonard Salvo, Director of Bands, at 419-289-5132 or lsalvo@ashland.edu.  

ASHLAND AREA CHORUS ANNOUNCES NEW DIRECTOR

After fifteen years of existence, the Ashland Area Chorus will see its first change in directorship this fall.  Dr. Ron Blackley, Professor of Music at Ashland University, is passing his baton to Elizabeth Slade, Adjunct Instructor of Music at Ashland University.

An Ashland resident since 2006, Libby teaches musicianship classes at AU, directs the choir and leads worship music at First United Methodist Church, and has frequently sung with the Ashland Area Chorus.  Libby received her Bachelor's degree in Music and French from the University of Virginia and her Master's degree from Harvard University.  She has conducted numerous choruses on the east coast, including the Mary Baldwin College Choir and the Virginia Women's Chorus.  In addition, she has an extensive background as a professional chorister, soloist and teacher of voice. The AU Department of Music is pleased to have found a conductor with such a fine background, and looks forward to many years of Libby Slade's leadership of the Ashland Area Chorus.

 

Thriving on a mission of singing great music beautifully, the ensemble performs regularly as part of Ashland University choral concerts, annually in collaboration with the Ashland Symphony Orchestra, for the Ohio Choral Directors Association, and by invitation with the Central Ohio Symphony.  Singers have come from the greater Ashland area, but also Richland, Medina, Wayne, Holmes, and Crawford counties as well.  The group sings both accompanied and a cappella choral music mainly drawn from the classical canon.

Rehearsals for the 2013-2014 season of the Ashland Area Chorus will commence on Monday, August 19, at 7:00 pm in Room 242 of the Center for the Arts on the Ashland University campus and are open to all interested singers.  For further information, contact Libby at eslade@ashland.edu.

SONGS & CELEBRATION THEME FOR VARIABLE WINDS

Ashland University Department of Music concludes a busy semester of live music with the annual Variable Winds band concert under the direction of Leonard Salvo and guest conductor Arie Lipsky on Sunday, May 5, 4:00 p.m. in Hugo Young Theatre.  With performances by the Ashland University Concert Band and Ashland Area Community Concert Band, the program includes pieces of celebration and songs along with an opportunity to recognize senior Concert Band members for their dedication and contribution to the AU Band program. Admission to the concert is complimentary and open to the public.

The concert begins with the Ashland Area Community Concert Band under the direction of Mr. Salvo performing Vaclav Nelheybel's High Plains, a concert march in the European Style which was commissioned to celebrate the 25^th anniversary of the High Plains Band Camp and its founder/director H.G. Palmer.  The second piece, Jubilance, An Overture by Caesar Giovannini is a contemporary musical portrayal of exultation and of depression.  The music has an insistent drive, a restless energy that speaks especially of the hectic life of the modern world. The one exception to the general restlessness is the broad, singing melody in the middle of the piece with the flutes then the clarinets, horns and lastly saxophones while various percussion instruments are also prominent as a kinetic, rhythmic thrust to propel the listener through the piece. AACCB continues with Air for Band by Frank Erickson and concludes its portion of the concert with Sea Song Fantasy by John Wasson which was commissioned by Symphonicity (the Symphony Orchestra of Virginia Beach) and premiered for the opening of their new concert hall in November 2007. The work features a wide variety of sea shanties in various styles, ranging from well known melodies to more obscure songs of the sea. All are combined into an exciting work featuring virtually every instrument and family in the ensemble.

 

After a brief intermission, the Ashland University Concert Band begins their portion of the concert under the direction of Mr. Salvo with Donald Grantham's Exhilaration and Midnight Cry from Southern Harmony which has a somewhat exotic sound to modern audiences with harmonizations that are regarded as inventive, unique, and powerfully representative of the American character. The concert continues with Percy Grainger's Lincolnshire Posy, which has been recognized as a cornerstone of the wind band repertoire. Commissioned by the American Bandmasters Association and premiered at their convention with the composer conducting, "This bunch of 'musical wildflowers" is based on folksongs collected in Lincolnshire, England in six movements of which the Concert Band will present four including the first, second, fifth and sixth (Lisbon, Horkstow Grang, Lord Melbourne and Lost Lady Found, respectively).

Guest conductor Maestro Lipsky will then direct Procession of Nobles by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov which was transcribed for concert band by Erik Leidzen. With an opening brass fanfare announcing the entry of the nobility in this cortege from the opera "Mlada," woodwinds provide the regal flourishes that embellish the work. In his capacity as Artist in Residence for Ashland University, Lipsky's duties include working with students, performing groups and addressing classes in the Department of Music.  As guest conductor, the AU Concert Band looks forward to his expertise, energy and enthusiasm. This is a true benefit of our music students, music program and the entire community. Arie is a truly world-class musician, and it is a rare opportunity for our students and faculty to work closely with someone of his stature.

 

Mr. Salvo returns to the conductor's podium for Variations on a Korean Folk Song by John Barnes Chance. While stationed with the U.S. Army in Korea in the late 1950s, Chance became fascinated by the popular folk melody “Arirang,” using it as the basis for his Variations on a Korean Folk Song. “Arirang” is a traditional Korean song of love and heartbreak, possibly originating 1000 years ago. The pentatonic theme is heard at the outset of this composition and is contrasted with five variations. In 1966, this piece received the Ostwald Award from the American Bandmasters Association. To close the concert, the AU Concert Band will perform Esprit de Corps by Robert Jager. Based on The Marines' Hymn, this work is a fantasy-march, as well as a tribute to the United States Marine Band. Full of energy and drama, the composition has its solemn moments and its lighter moments.

BEST OF SPRING 2013 FEATURED AT HONORS RECITAL

The Ashland University Department of Music presents the spring honors recital on Wednesday, May 1, 7:30 p.m. at the Elizabeth Pastor Recital Hall in the Center for the Arts (formerly known as the Arts & Humanities Building).  The concert will showcase the department’s student musicians who accomplished exceptional work in the spring semester from instrumentalists including piano, percussion, guitar, trumpets and flute, to vocalists and an opera scene. The concert is free and open to the public.

Featured instrumentalists include seniors Ian Dively, trumpet; and Eddie Carney, piano; and Spencer Stadnik, guitar; juniors Andy Bartelheim, trumpet; Steve Morsher, percussion; and sophomore Devyn Renninger, flute.  Vocal performances will feature seniors Brandy Kay Riha, soprano; freshman Fatima Imani-Smith, soprano; along with a vocal ensemble performing a scene from the Pirates of Penzance including seniors Bret Cowden, baritone; Derek Jackenheimer, tenor; Katie Vargo, soprano; and Emily Plank, mezzo-soprano.