or Department of Music at 614-823-1508 or cbirri@otterbein.edu
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 18, 2008
General Entertainment
OTTERBEIN COLLEGE MUSIC EVENTS CURE THE WINTER BLUES
College concludes winter quarter with a variety of performances.
Otterbein Student String Quartets to Perform
The Otterbein College Department of Music will present a concert of chamber music performed by student string quartets at 8 p.m. on Friday, Feb 22, at Church of the Master United Methodist, 24 N. Grove St., Westerville. The program will feature music by Beethoven, Schubert, Shostakovich, and others. The concert is free and open to the public. For more information, call (614) 823-1508.
Otterbein College String Orchestra to Perform
The Otterbein College String Orchestra, directed by Jim Bates, will perform at 7 p.m. on Sunday, March 2, at Church of the Master United Methodist, 24 N. Grove St., Westerville. The program, entitled "Fiddler's Fare" will explore fiddling styles from around the world including Scandinavia, China, Eastern Europe and America. This concert is free and open to the public. For more information, call (614) 823-1508.
Otterbein College to Host Guest Artists "Duo Montagnard"
The Otterbein College Department of Music will host a performance of music for saxophone and guitar by Duo Montagnard at 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 8, at First Presbyterian Church, 41 W. College Ave., Westerville. The concert is free and open to the public. For more information, please contact the Department of Music at 614-823-1508.
Duo Montagnard, featuring Joseph Murphy and Matthew Slotkin, was formed in 2002 and has performed over 100 concerts in 20 states, Canada, Slovenia, United Kingdom and Greece. Festival performances include the Chautauqua Institution, the Hartwick College Summer Music Festival, and the Alexandria Guitar Festival. Recent commissions include pieces by John Anthony Lennon, George Daravelis, John Orfe and Charles Stolte.
Joseph Murphy has been the saxophone professor at Mansfield University of Pennsylvania since 1987, also serving as director of bands and department chair. He earned his bachelor's degree from Bowling Green State University and his master's and doctorate degrees from Northwestern University. Murphy was music director of Tiffin Calvert High School from 1983-85. In 1985 he received a Fulbright Award for a year of study in Bordeaux, France, where he received a Premier Prix. In June 1996, Murphy performed a solo recital at Lincoln Center. He has performed in Europe, Taiwan and Japan. He is a clinician for the Selmer Corporation and has been recorded on Erol (France) and Opus One labels.
Matthew Slotkin earned his bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees from Eastman School of Music. He is the director of guitar studies at Mansfield University and has taught guitar and chamber music at the Bowdoin Summer Music Festival, Alfred University and the Eastman School of Music Community Education Division. He has studied with Nicholas Goluses, Paul O'Dette, Bruce Holzman, and masterclasses Manuel Barrueco, Raphaella Smits, Malcolm Bilson, and Ralph Towner. Slotkin also has appeared at the Chautauqua Institution and the DuMaurier Jazz Festival in Toronto, Ontario. His first CD, Twentieth Century Music for Guitar, was released by Centaur Records in November 2003.
Otterbein Opera Theatre to Perform
Otterbein College Opera Theatre will present The Merry Wives of Windsor by German composer Otto Nicolai on March 7- 9 in Riley Auditorium of the Battelle Fine Arts Center, 170 W. Park St., Westerville. The production begins at 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, March 7 and 8, and at 2 p.m. on Sunday, March 9.
Based on Shakespeare's Falstaff, the opera follows the roguish antics of the impoverished nobleman, Sir John Falstaff, as he searches for a wealthy woman to support him. He makes the mistake of sending Mrs. Ford and Mrs. Page, who are friends and neighbors, the same love letter. They decide to teach Falstaff a lesson and at the same time put Mistress Ford's insanely jealous husband in his place once and for all.
Directed by music faculty member Maggie Patton, the production features students Whitney Dodds & Julie Alton as Mrs. Ford; Robert Pierce as Mr. Ford; Jaime Hartzell & Ashley Woodard as Mrs. Page; Lucas Anderson & Alex Almeida as Mr. Page; Erica Gelhaus & Lynnie Braun as their daughter Anne Page; Brandon Motz & Jarod Ogier as Fenton, Anne's suitor; Sean Milliff as the lovesick Slender; and Travis Matson as the foppish Dr. Cajus.
Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for seniors citizens and Otterbein employees, and $5 for students. Tickets may be purchased at the door or in advance by calling 614-823-1508.
Otterbein College Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band to Perform
The Otterbein College Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band will perform at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, March 12, at the Fritsche Theatre at Cowan Hall, 30 S. Grove St., Westerville. The concert is free and open to the public. For more information, call (614) 823-1508.
The Wind Ensemble will perform works to be featured on the group's upcoming tour to Pennsylvania and New York. The performance will include works by Clifton Williams, Fisher Tull, and Michael Gandolfi and will feature guest composer Dr. Erica J. Neidlinger of DePaul University.
The Symphonic Band will perform a mix of wind band masterworks and innovative new compositions. The program will lead with Noisy Wheels of Joy by composer Eric Whitacre. The program will also include Gustav Holst's celebrated Second Suite in F for military band and Barbara Buehlman's superb transcription of Johannes Brahms' "Blessed are They" from A German Requiem. The Symphonic Band will perform the "hometown premiere" of Strange Humors, a brand new piece from up-and-coming-composer John Mackey, a Westerville native. The program will conclude with a traditional march from across the sea, March of the Belgian Paratroopers by Pierre Leemans.
Dr. Neidlinger joined the faculty at DePaul University in the fall of 2007 as conductor of the Wind Symphony. She has additional teaching responsibilities in conducting and music education. Before coming to DePaul, she served as assistant director of bands at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, where she conducted university ensembles and the Marching Mavericks. In January 2005, the Marching Mavericks represented the state of Nebraska at the Presidential Inaugural Parade. She completed her doctoral studies at the University of Minnesota.
Otterbein College Student Ensemble "The Anticipations" to Perform
The Otterbein College Department of Music will present a concert featuring The Anticipations at 8 p.m. on Friday, March 14, at the Battelle Fine Arts Center's Riley Auditorium, 170 W. Park St., Westerville. The concert is free and open to the public. For more information call 614-823-1508.
This performance will include professional lighting and student-created video content and will mark the largest membership of the group yet, including a horn section on some numbers, and solo performances. In addition to numerous songs by the Beatles and songs from the Motown era, the group will also perform several original student arrangements and original music by Otterbein student Julie Alton.
Otterbein College Vocal Ensemble and Early Music Ensemble to Perform
The Otterbein College Department of Music will present a unique concert of vocal and instrumental music from the Italian Renaissance and early Baroque periods at 8 p.m. on Saturday, March 15, at the Battelle Fine Arts Center's Riley Auditorium, located at 170 W. Park St. in Westerville. The performance will feature the Otterbein Vocal Ensemble and the Otterbein Early Music Ensemble. The concert is free and open to the public. For more information, call 614-823-1508.
