Spring Break
Doudna gets a harpsichord
Nick Draper/Verge Reporter
Issue date: 3/27/09 Section: The Verge
To celebrate the unveiling of Eastern's new harpsichord, the Eastern Symphony Chamber Orchestra, Collegium Musicum and Camerata Singers are holding a concert at 4 p.m. Sunday in the Doudna Fine Arts Center's Dvorak Concert Hall.
The French double harpsichord, custom made by Yves Beaupré in Montreal, was purchased through a donation made by Herbert and Jane Lasky.
The harpsichord is constructed in the fashion of French 18th-century harpsichord makers Hemsch and Blanchet.
Music will include selections from Mozart, Bizet, and other early music composers.
Richard Rossi, director of orchestral and choral activities, said the harpsichord was a definite need for the musical program.
"The harpsichords we had years ago were just these small little kits that people get for a couple thousand," Rossi said. "They didn't last long."
Rossi, in addition to directing, will perform "Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, BWV 1050" by Johann Sebastian Bach on harpsichord, along with Rebecca Johnson on flute and Maureen Murchie on violin.
Eastern Symphony Orchestra members include not only students here at Eastern, but community members and members of Eastern's Symphonic Honors Initiative Program, or "SHIP," for talented middle school and high school students.
The SHIP students will be featured alone in the concert as well.
Eastern concerto winner Emily Miller, a junior vocal music education major, will also perform two arias: "Près des remparts de Séville" from "Carmen" by Bizet and "Non so piú cosa son" from "Le Nozze di Figaro" by Mozart.
Allen Rotert, a graduate student and conductor in the concert, said the symphony plays a wide variety of music to expose the students to different playing styles.
"We might go Baroque concerto or a late 19th-century requiem or mass," Rotert said. "It gives the students more knowledge of what all is out there."
Janet McCumber, also a graduate student at Eastern and conducting in the concert, said the way the symphony is growing is inspiring.
"It's a really exciting place to be, right now," she said. "With a new building and a new harpsichord and the level of talent in the students rising every year, it's really holding its own against other music programs in the state."
Rotert said one of the great things about the concert is that it gets a different style out to the public.
"People don't realize that they listen to early music," he said. "They say, 'Oh, I don't listen to early music,' but they do. For example, Blink-182's 'All the Small Things' has the same chords as a Mozart sonata."
Tickets are available for $5 dollars for students, $12 for adults and $10 for senior citizens.
The French double harpsichord, custom made by Yves Beaupré in Montreal, was purchased through a donation made by Herbert and Jane Lasky.
The harpsichord is constructed in the fashion of French 18th-century harpsichord makers Hemsch and Blanchet.
Music will include selections from Mozart, Bizet, and other early music composers.
Richard Rossi, director of orchestral and choral activities, said the harpsichord was a definite need for the musical program.
"The harpsichords we had years ago were just these small little kits that people get for a couple thousand," Rossi said. "They didn't last long."
Rossi, in addition to directing, will perform "Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, BWV 1050" by Johann Sebastian Bach on harpsichord, along with Rebecca Johnson on flute and Maureen Murchie on violin.
Eastern Symphony Orchestra members include not only students here at Eastern, but community members and members of Eastern's Symphonic Honors Initiative Program, or "SHIP," for talented middle school and high school students.
The SHIP students will be featured alone in the concert as well.
Eastern concerto winner Emily Miller, a junior vocal music education major, will also perform two arias: "Près des remparts de Séville" from "Carmen" by Bizet and "Non so piú cosa son" from "Le Nozze di Figaro" by Mozart.
Allen Rotert, a graduate student and conductor in the concert, said the symphony plays a wide variety of music to expose the students to different playing styles.
"We might go Baroque concerto or a late 19th-century requiem or mass," Rotert said. "It gives the students more knowledge of what all is out there."
Janet McCumber, also a graduate student at Eastern and conducting in the concert, said the way the symphony is growing is inspiring.
"It's a really exciting place to be, right now," she said. "With a new building and a new harpsichord and the level of talent in the students rising every year, it's really holding its own against other music programs in the state."
Rotert said one of the great things about the concert is that it gets a different style out to the public.
"People don't realize that they listen to early music," he said. "They say, 'Oh, I don't listen to early music,' but they do. For example, Blink-182's 'All the Small Things' has the same chords as a Mozart sonata."
Tickets are available for $5 dollars for students, $12 for adults and $10 for senior citizens.
The Daily Eastern News encourages on-topic, civil discussion on its articles posted online. It is our policy not to screen comments before they are posted or edit them after they are posted. However, we reserve the right to remove comments that are off-topic, malicious, libelous or include excessive foul language. The DEN also reserves the right to turn off all comments on any story it deems necessary.
Comments violating copyright law will also be removed.
Users who repeatedly violate this policy will be banned from commenting.
If you have any questions on our comment policy or wish to report a comment that you feel violates these standards, please e-mail a link to the article to our Online Editor at DENNews.com@gmail.com.
Be the first to comment on this story